Solar plane lands in US after a long trip

CalIfornIa - Agence France-Presse

The solar-powered airplane that developers hope to eventually pilot around the world - flies from San Francisco Bay, California to Phoenix, Arizona.

The first-ever manned airplane that can fly by day or night on solar power alone landed in the dark at a major southwestern US airport, a live feed from the organizer’s website showed on May 4.

Solar Impulse, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, touched down at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona at 0730 GMT after departing from California more than 18 hours earlier on the first leg of a cross-country journey.

A Piccard, who raised his arms in triumph. “I’m happy to be here, happy to have landed in Phoenix,” a visibly elated Piccard told reporters, as a small crowd assembled on the tarmac cheered his arrival. Piccard said he was impressed by the scenery as he overflew the southwestern United States, first over California then over the Arizona desert and his nighttime approach to Phoenix.

When he landed he said he still had three-quarters of his battery power left.