A Swiss man attempting to circumnavigate the globe with an aircraft powered only by the sun's energy has broken a world record for the longest non-stop solo flight, his project team has said.
The Solar Impulse, which took off from Japan on Monday on the seventh leg of its journey, shattered the solo-flight record threshold of 76 hours while crossing the Pacific..
The aircraft, piloted alternatively by Swiss explorers Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, set off on its 22,000-mile journey around the world from Abu Dhabi on March 9.
"Can you imagine that a solar powered airplane without fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane!" said Piccard. "This is a clear message that clean technologies can achieve impossible goals."
The plane, which was piloted by Borschberg when it broke the record, weighs about as much as a family car and has 17,000 solar cells across its wingspan.
Overall, its trip around the globe was expected to take some 25 flight days, broken up into 12 legs at speeds between 30 to 60 mph.
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