The Solar Impulse aircraft made its maiden flight on 3 December at Dubendorf Airfield in Switzerland and is being hailed as a significant advance in aviation technology.

The plane is made of a carbon fiber composite making it ultra-lightweight. It was designed to fly long distances on very little power.

And if the Solar Impulse Project is a success, the vehicle will run entirely on solar power, producing no CO-2 output.

Maiden flight

The Solar Impulse's first flight was a short one. The aircraft reached take-off  speed and flew one meter above the ground for a mere 30 seconds.

The plane was not fitted with the solar panels, but ran instead on batteries which supplied electricity to the four motors. Nevertheless, the test flight was called a success.

The Solar Impulse can fly. In the next phase of testing, the plane's wing and stabalizer will be fitted with over 11,000 solar power cells, making it carbon-neutral.