Solar Impulse breaks record for longest solo flight

BBC : Andre Borschberg, who is piloting the long-range solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 , has broken the record for the longest nonstop solo flight without refueling. Traveling from Japan to Hawaii on the seventh leg of an around-the-world tour, Borschberg surpassed the previous record of 76 hours in the air—set by Steve Fossett in 2006—and still has at least another 40 hours to go. Borschberg has been tag-teaming with copilot Bertrand Piccard, who will take over in Hawaii to fly the next leg of the journey to Phoenix, Arizona. Once they complete their circumnavigation of the globe, which began and will end in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the aircraft will have flown a total of 35 000 km. Solar Impulse 2 runs entirely on solar power, and its average speed is just 50–100 km/hr, much slower than that of liquid-fueled aircraft.