The plane, known as the Solar Impulse, has 12,000 solar cells built into its wings and is a prototype for an aircraft intended to fly around the world without fuel in 2012.
The Solar Impulse glided for roughly 87 minutes above western Switzerland at an altitude of 1,200 meters with German test pilot Markus Scherdel controlling it.
Scherdel said after that everything went as it should.
The carbon fiber aircraft took 6 years to create. It weighs 1,600 kg, or about as much as a mid-sized car.
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of two Swiss federal polytechnical universities, is the scientific advisor of the initiative.
The plane is powered by four electric motors and designed to fly day and night by saving energy from its solar cells in high-performance batteries.
Ultimately, the propeller plane is expected to attain an average flying speed of 70 kms per hour and reach a maximum altitude of 8,500 meters (27,900 feet).
Swiss engineer (and one of the main pilots of the Solar Impulse) Andre Borschberg, said on the initiatives website www.solarimpulse.com that "such a large wingspan for so little weight is something completely new in the world of aviation."
The project has a budget of 100 million Swiss frances, or $94 million.
According to spokeswoman Rachel de Bros, 80 million francs has been secured from sponsors including Belgian chemicals company Solvay, Swiss watchmaker Omega, and German banking giant Deutsche Bank.
Bertrand Piccard, the founder of the Solar Impulse program, said that this first test flight was "an essential step towards achieving our vision."
The Solar Impulse team plans to perform night testing later this year, during which the team will examine the viability of the schedule they plan to use for the around the world flight.
The first around the world flight of the Solar Impulse is scheduled to take place in 2012 with an updated version of the plane.
The flight will take place in several stages with pilots alternating regularly and a team on the ground keeping a careful eye on the weather, due to the delicacy of the aircraft.
The Solar Impulse won't set any records for speed, but if all goes as planned it could become the lightest plane ever to fly-and with the least amount of negative impact on the environment.
Until next time,
Hilary
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