Solar Powered Plane Rolls Out in Switzerland

You want ambitious? How about this: Bertrand Piccard wants to fly a plane around the world in 2012. No biggie, right? Well, now consider this: the plane he wants to fly around the world will be powered solely by solar power. It's part of a project called Solar Impulse. From the group's website:

In a world depending on fossil energies, the Solar Impulse project is a paradox, almost a provocation: it aims to have an airplane take off and fly...propelled uniquely by solar energy, right round the world without fuel or pollution. An unachievable goal without pushing back the current technological limits in all fields...

The prototype of the plane that Piccard hopes will eventually fly around the world (with five stopovers to change pilots...) got a rollout recently in Switzerland. For the first time, it fired up all four electric motors which will power it. It didn't get a test flight, though. The pilot kept the brakes on, and at a speed designed for taxiing.

It's a first step. The final plane will be even bigger than the prototype.

Piccard, by the way, was part of the first team to fly around the world in a balloon in 1999. Given the sun-splashed theme this week, it seems like a good time to bring you an interview we did with Piccard on The World's Technology Podcast recently. He starts by asking you to imagine the size of the aircraft:

A Conversation with Bertrand Piccard

(Photo courtesy of Solar Impulse)