Solar Plane Takes Off For 24-Hour Test Flight

GENEVA — An experimental solar-powered plane whose makers hope to one day circle the globe using only energy collected from the sun took off for its first 24-hour test flight Wednesday.

The plane with its 262.5-foot (80-meter) wingspan left Payerne airfield in Switzerland shortly before 7 a.m. (0500 GMT; 1 a.m. EDT) after overcoming an equipment problem that delayed a previous attempt, the Solar Impulse team said.

Clear blue skies mean the prototype aircraft will be able to soak up plenty of solar energy as it flies over the Jura mountains to the west of the Swiss Alps.

By midmorning pilot Andre Borschberg was cruising at 9,850 feet (3,000 meters), trying to avoid low-level turbulence and thermal winds that are frequent in the mountains.

He will take the plane to an altitude of 27,900 feet (8,500 meters) by Wednesday evening, when a decision will be made whether to continue through the night using solar power stored in its batteries.

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