Solar Impulse 2 is powered by more than 17,000 solar cells built into wings that, at 72 metres, are longer than those of a Boeing 747 and approaching those of an Airbus A380 superjumbo. The airplane can do fly day and night with no fuel.

The pilot, Andre Borschberg, who left the ground in Nanjing in eastern China at about 2.40am, will have to survive on little sleep and with only a parachute for backup.

The Solar Impulse 2 plane took off early on Sunday for a six-day, six-night flight over the Pacific Ocean, the most ambitious leg of its quest to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun. The 5,270-mile (8,500km) flight could set a record for duration by a single pilot, organisers said. This is the seventh and longest section of the maiden solar global circumnavigation, an attempt to promote green energy.
http://osun.info/post-13-solar-impulse-the-airplane-that-can-fly-with-no-fuel.html
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/31/solar-impulse-plane-starts-six-day-pacific-ocean-crossing-powered-only-by-the-sun

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