<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Gigaom]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://gigaom.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Barb Darrow]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://gigaom.com/author/gigabarb/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Solar-powered plane takes off for round-the-world flight]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>Two pilots aboard a solar-powered aircraft took off at 7:12 a.m. local time from Abu Dhabi for the first leg of what they hope will be the first complete solar-powered circumnavigation flight.</p>
<p>If all goes well, Solar Impulse-2 should take about 12 hours to reach Oman (a flight that would take about an hour on a commercial airliner) where it will land before continuing on to India, Myanmar, China and the U.S. The total 22,000-mile trip is expected to take five months. You can follow the flight&#8217;s progress at <a href="http://www.solarimpulse.com/">SolarImpulse.com</a>.</p>
<p>The aircraft has a 236-foot wingspan but weighs just 5,070 pounds, according to <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/solar-impulse-2-first-flight/32351/">Gizmag</a>, and is powered by more than 17,000 solar panels. One of the main materials used to build the plane was <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/180334-solar-impulse-2-as-large-as-a-747-prepares-for-the-first-round-the-world-solar-powered-flight">lightweight carbon fiber composites</a>. One problem was fashioning long wings that were both extremely lightweight and strong enough to withstand multi-day flights without failing.</p>
<p>This plane&#8217;s predecessor, piloted by the same team of André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, <a href="//gigaom.com/2013/07/07/a-solar-powered-plane-just-flew-across-the-us-next-up-a-trip-around-the-world">flew from California to New York</a> in 2013. That trip took three months.</p>
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