The plane uses solar energy to take off

The test model of the aircraft operated by sunlight has flown yesterday at a speed of 45 km / h.

Solar Impulse aircraft flies above the Swiss lake Neuchatel on April 7.Photo: AFP.

Solar Impulse - the name of the aircraft - took off from a military airport in Payerne, Switzerland, BBC said. After leaving the runway, it gradually increased in height and eventually disappeared from sight of the witnesses.

Solar Impulse has a wingspan equivalent to a Boeing 747 passenger plane but its volume is only equal to a small car. The wings of the aircraft are covered by nearly 12,000 solar panels. Its four motors use electricity from the panels. In addition, the aircraft has Lithium batteries.

"There has never been such a big and light plane that can fly , " AP quoted Bertrand Piccard, who directed the Solar Impulse project. The project is carried out at Lausanne Polytechnic University, Switzerland.

During the 90-minute flight, Solar Impulse performed a series of navigation moves by tilting its wings. Cloudy and light wind - very convenient for testing a very light aircraft and depends on sunlight.

AP said that the Solar Impulse manufacturing project was invested 93.5 million USD. Engineers have been piloting short-range airplanes since December last year. In those tests it only reached an altitude of about 60 cm above the ground and could not fly far more than 300 m. But in the test yesterday Solar Impulse flew up to about 1,600 m.

The manufacturing team will conduct flight testing at night before July. Then they will design the second aircraft based on the results of the tests. The second aircraft will be flying around the world in 2012.

"Our goal is for airplanes to fly all day and night without fuel," Piccard said.

Aviation experts say commercial aircraft will use renewable fuels in the future, but they predict biofuels are likely to become superior to solar energy. Biofuels are made from plants such as algae, tobacco, and cassava.

Pilot Markus Shcherdel (on the cockpit) is the person who performs the test flight.Photo: AFP.

Aircraft running momentum on the runway.Photo: AFP.

The plane leaves the runway.Photo: AP.

A helicopter flies above Solar Impulse when it's runway.Photo: AFP.

People watched the experiment on a hill near the airport.Photo: AFP.

It gradually increases height.Photo: Reuters .

An audience photographed the plane.Photo: AP.

The plane reached an altitude of about 1,600 m.Photo: AFP.

The flight lasted nearly two hours.Photo: AP.

Pilot Markus Shcherdel stepped down after completing the test flight.Photo: AFP.