Mountain View, California - Solar Impulse, an aircraft powered solely by solar energy, is to attempt a coast-to-coast crossing of the US this spring without using a single drop of fuel.
It will be the first time that an airplane, capable of flying 24 hours non-stop day and night powered exclusively by solar energy, will fly across America, the Solar Impulse team claimed in a 28 March news release.
The 64-metre wingspan plane, which has a cockpit made of rigid polyurethane foam, uses materials such as carbon nanotubes and PU foam.
Solar Impulse will leave in early May from San Francisco and stop in four US cities including Phoenix, Dallas Fort Worth and Washington DC before reaching New York's JFK airport, its final destination in early July.
The journey across America will be the aircraft's last mission before attempting a zero-fuel round-the-world flight in 2015.
