Watch a Solar Plane Disappear in One Minute

from PopularMechanics.com

February 26, 2013 at 3:58:00 PM by Andrew Moseman | 0 Comments

Now that the Solar Impulse has set endurance records for solar-powered flight, including staying aloft for more than 24 consecutive hours, the plane is coming to America. As we reported in December, the Swiss project's backers are bringing Solar Impulse to California this year. Beginning in the spring, they will fly across America in multiple legs, concluding the trek in New York. But first they have to get their plane to the States.

Solar Impulse just released this time-lapse video of the aircraft's deconstruction. It took engineers a full week to disassemble the sun-powered plane and box it up for its transatlantic journey from Switzerland to the Golden State. In the time-lapse video above, it all happens in just 59 seconds.

While it'll be exciting to see the experimental aircraft on its American tour, the main attraction comes in 2015, when, pilots André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard say, they will fly a larger version of Solar Impulse around the globe.

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Read more: Watch a Solar Plane Disappear in One Minute - Popular Mechanics