Solar Impulse continues trip, takes off from Madrid

Remember the Solar Impulse aircraft? Well, it looks set to take have already off from Madrid in Spain, earlier today as part of its attempt to complete the world’s first fully solar-powered flight over the Strait of Gibraltar, with the final destination being set at Morocco. This will function as a dress rehearsal in order to prepare for the World Tour that is happening later in a couple of year’s time, including one stopover at the US. André Borschberg from Switzerland piloted the first leg of the trip to Spain, and he will now have handed over the reins to Bertrand Piccard as part of their mission to complete the challenge in order to arrive at Morocco, flying for more than 2,500km without requiring even a drop of fuel. I do not think that my heart is ready for a commercial flight that runs entirely on solar power – one thing’s for sure, you won’t find night flights on the schedule of such aircraft!