successfully completed a slow-but-methodical trip around the world in 14 months in 2016. The experimental aircraft traveled 25,000 miles around the world, with 550 miles in the air. Bertrand Piccard came up with the idea for a solar-powered airplane 10 years after his 1999 nonstop flight around the world in a hot air balloon. Solar Impulse 2 had 17,248 photovoltaic solar cells, each one the size of a human hair, built into the wings to recharge the batteries and power the electric motor.
The elegant look of the Falcon, says its designer, is more for “safety, efficiency and stability, not exceptional maneuverability.” Despite the success of these experimental aircraft, solar is not envisioned as the sustainable mode of mass transport, especially for commercial and private air travel. Solar-powered aircraft can carry limited payloads and speeds are also much slower than conventional aircraft.