Flying Solar

With the unveiling of prototype craft HB-SIA, Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard announced his plans to captain a 3,300 lb solar-powered plane non-stop around the world in 2012.

He is determined to use this and future aircrafts to promote the enterprise of renewable energy, stating that "if [we manage] to do it around the world... we should be able to do it in our daily life."

Piccard flew the world once before in a Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon, following a course across the United Arab Emirates, to China, Hawaii, the U.S., and Europe.