瑞士制造的一架太阳能飞机星期一清晨从阿布扎比起飞。制造者们希望这架飞机能够首次完成无燃料环球飞行。
用碳纤维材料制造的单人座“太阳能动力2号”翼展为72米，超过波音747，重量则仅相当于一辆汽车。安装在机翼上的1万7千个太阳能电池储存能量，以供夜间飞行。
制造“太阳能动力2号”费时12年。设计者是瑞士科学家皮卡德和博奇伯格。
A solar-powered Swiss airplane took off from Abu Dhabi early Monday on the first leg of what its creators hope will be the first around-the-world journey without any fuel.
The carbon fiber single-seater Solar Impulse 2 aircraft has a 72-meter wingspan, which is longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747, and weighs about as much as a car. The 17,000 solar cells built into the wings harness the sun's energy, allowing it to fly through the night.
The Si2 took 12 years to build and is the brainchild of two Swiss scientists - Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.
