Solar plane begins epic five-month flight around the world

The solar plane named Solar Impulse-2 took off from the Emirate, heading to Muscat in Oman.

16:41 09 March 2015

Solar Impulse-2 plane has begun its epic five-month flight around the world taking off from the Emirate to Muscat in Oman. It is set to skip from continent to continent, crossing both the Pacific and Atlantic ocean in the process.

Pilot Andre Borschberg controls the single-seater vehicle but will share the pilot duties in due course with fellow Swiss, Bertrand Piccard. Whoever is at the controls will have to stay alert as long as they are airborne.

Before taking off, Borschberg told BBC News: "I am confident we have a very special aeroplane, and it will have to be to get us across the big oceans.

"We may have to fly for five days and five nights to do that, and it will be a challenge.

"But we have the next two months, as we fly the legs to China, to train and prepare ourselves."

Details of the journey are being relayed on the internet. One of the goals is to open up a debate about the reliance of environment-damaging fuel in air travel.

The Solar Impulse project has already set a number of world records for solar-powered flights, including making a high-profile transit of the US in 2013.