First Solar-Powered Airplane Takes Flight

The first solar-powered aircraft took flight on Dec. 5 in Duebendorf, Switzerland.

12/12/2009|Updated: 12/12/2009

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1hop_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1hop_medium.jpg" alt="The Solar Impulse, the world's first solar-powered airplane, gets airborne on its maiden flight. (solarimpulse.com)" title="The Solar Impulse, the world's first solar-powered airplane, gets airborne on its maiden flight. (solarimpulse.com)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-96456"/></a>

The Solar Impulse, the world's first solar-powered airplane, gets airborne on its maiden flight. (solarimpulse.com)

The first solar-powered aircraft took flight on Dec. 5 in Duebendorf, Switzerland. The plane flew nearly 1200 feet, just skimming the ground at an altitude of approximately 3 feet. The entire trip lasted 28 seconds.

The organization responsible for this short, but completely sun-powered journey is The Solar Impulse Project. Their goal is to make solar energy powered planes a reality.