July 26, 2010 - Zephyr Solar Plane Completes Longest Unmanned Flight Ever

Zephyr, considered to be the world's first and only truly persistent aeroplane, was launched on July 9 and was successfully aloft for 14 nights continuously, achieving the objective of the trial and setting a number of performance and altitude records.

The photovoltaic-powered Zephyr, which touched down on Friday, easily crushed the previous world record of 30 hours with a new record of an incredible 336 hours.

The plane was designed by research and defense company QinetQ as part of an effort to develop self-sufficient surveillance aircraft. The Zephyr is fairly large, with a 74 foot wingspan, but it's light, too - it weighs just 110 pounds thanks to a lightweight carbon fiber body. During the day, Zephyr juices up with silicon solar arrays and it stores excess energy in lithium-sulphur batteries that are used at night.

No word yet on when Zephyr-like aircraft will be commercialized, but we're stoked to see that solar power has proven to be a viable technology in the transportation industry.