Swiss team unveils improved solar plane

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Swiss team planning to complete the first round-the-world solar flight next year has unveiled a new version of the plane they say can remain in the air indefinitely, the Associated Press reports.

Pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg say the Solar Impulse 2 improves upon the prototype that first took to the air five years ago.

The updated plane presented to the world on Wednesday, April 9, at the Payerne Air Force Base in Switzerland has better batteries for storing energy soaked up from the sun by the thousands of solar cells that cover its massive wings.

The single-seater prototype has already demonstrated that a solar airplane can fly through the night, between two continents and across the United States.