Solar Impulse plane postpones record night flight bid
Pilot Andre Borschberg has announced he is postponing an attempt to make aviation history because of a technical problem. He had planned to take off from a Swiss airfield in a solar-powered plane and fly through the night.
The plane would need to generate enough energy through the day to sustain its battery-driven engines at night. One of the aeroplane's inventors, Bertrand Piccard, said the pilot would have to wait for a part from the US. 'Solar future' The HB-SIA aeroplane, which has 12,000 solar cells, is the latest step in the Solar Impulse project, which Mr Borschberg leads with his business partner and fellow adventurer, Dr Piccard.
It was to have taken off from Payerne in the west of Switzerland in an attempt to fly for 24 hours. Robotic craft have achieved this feat before now, but never a manned one.