Flight through the night with no fuel

‘Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun,’ said Borschberg, ‘and then that suspense, not knowing whether we were going to manage to stay up in the air the whole night. And finally the joy of seeing the sun rise and feeling the energy beginning to circulate in the solar panels again – it was an extraordinary night.’ The initiative contrasts starkly with developments in commercial aircraft, which have not improved their fuel efficiency in the past 10 years.

T&E’s Bill Hemmings said, ‘It’s an inspiring story, that hopefully will raise the debate on a meaningful CO2 standard for aircraft which really changes the way they are designed and built.’