Solar Impulse, a prototype of an airplane designed to fly around the world using only solar power, made its first real flight today. As the sun shone down on the Swiss countryside an aircraft ...

Miller sees solar aircraft as a complementary capability to LEO satellite communications rather than a direct rival, with the potential for providing continuous coverage in specific regions.

Solar Airplane's Round-The-World Trip Is Halted Until 2016 : The Two-Way Battery problems on the Solar Impulse, the airplane that has been flying around the world using only the sun's power, ...

Eric Raymond is flying across Europe in an aircraft powered by the sun’s rays to prove that “solar airplane” is not an oxymoron — but a viable means of air travel. Raymond’s eight ...

The Solar Impulse 2 takes off from Abu Dhabi on the first leg of an attempted 20,000-mile circumnavigation of the globe -- an unprecedented journey for a sun-powered craft.

The Solar Impulse glides over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco during a test flight last week. The plane, which is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells, is scheduled to begin a cross ...

The unmanned solar-powered PHASA-35 airplane aims to fly up to 20 km (66,000 ft) in the sky using only sunlight. BAE Systems and Prismatic designed the aircraft and tested it two years ago.

A solar-powered plane designed to fly both day and night has succeeded in its first attempt at a 24-hour voyage. Taking off from its base in Switzerland, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA soared into the ...

Solar Plane V1 had a 9.5 ft / 2.9 m carbon fibre skeleton wing, covered with transparent film, with the fragile monocrystaline solar cells mounted inside the wing.

Although not the first to try and build a DIY solar-powered remote control airplane, [ProjectAir]’s recent attempt is the most significant one in recent memory. It follows [rctestflight]’s ...