That beautiful plane is called Solar Impulse, and it doesn’t have a drop of fuel on it. The solar panels along its wings provide the power, and the batteries on board store enough energy to keep the plane flying all night, too. Today on my America Weekend show, I talked with Bertrand Piccard, the man behind the Solar Impulse project, who piloted it on its first leg, from San Francisco to Phoenix yesterday. I asked him about this breakthrough in clean renewable energy, how long it will be before planes carrying more than one passenger can fly this way, and how bad weather (or even clouds) along the way will affect the trip.
Listen to our conversation here.