Solar-Powered Plane to Make Cross-Country Flight

Solar impulse, an ultra-lightweight plane powered completely by the sun is set to fly coast-to-coast this spring, researchers announced on March 28 at Moffett Air Field at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

The plane requires zero fuel and relies solely on solar panels and battery power.

The two Swiss pilots of the plane, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, want to complete a flight from Moffett Field to New York City. Along the way it will stop in Phoenix, Ariz., Dallas-Ft. Worth, Washington, D.C., and either Nashville, Tenn., Atlanta, Ga., or St. Louis. The plane will embark on May 1 and will arrive in the Big Apple by early July. Read more...