Sunday Times 2
Solar plane lands in New York, completing U.S. journey
View(s):NEW YORK (Reuters) – An airplane entirely powered by the sun touched down in New York City late on Saturday, completing the final leg of an epic journey across the United States that began over two months ago.
Pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg (R) wave after Solar Impulse lands ain New York (REUTERS)
The Solar Impulse, its four propellers driven by energy collected from 12,000 solar cells in its wings to charge batteries for night use, landed at John F. Kennedy Airport at 11:09 p.m. EDT, organizers said.
The spindly aircraft had been expected to land in the early hours of Sunday, but the project team decided to shorten the flight after an 8-foot (2.5 meter) tear appeared on the underside of the left wing. The condition of the aircraft was declared sufficiently stable to continue, and pilot Andre Borschberg was not in danger, the organizers said.
The Solar Impulse is the first solar-powered plane capable of operating day and night to fly across the United States.
With the wingspan of a jumbo jet and the weight of a small car, the aircraft completed the first leg of the journey from San Francisco to Phoenix in early May.
Intended to boost support for clean energy technologies, the project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of $112 million (90 million euros).
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