In 1903, the Wright brothers became the first men to fly. Twenty-four years later, Charles Lindbergh became the first to fly over the Atlantic. Coming soon...another possible breakthrough. Two Swiss gentlemen have built a plane which they hope to fly across the United States next spring and then around the world without burning an ounce of fuel.

Yes, Switzerland makes solar powered airplane called SOLAR IMPULSE 2 which will fly around the world from 2015.

The plane is called Solar Impulse and it's powered entirely by the sun. It is not the first solar airplane, but it is the first that can fly at night. Thousands of solar cells on its wings transmit enough energy to batteries to keep it in the sky from sunset to sunrise. Solar Impulse has already flown more than 2,500 miles from Switzerland to North Africa and back. The goal: to make it around the world in 20 days and 20 nights.

The plane has larger wings — about the size of a larger passenger plane — and uses roughly 17,200 solar cells and improved batteries. The plane also has amenities such as autopilot, a toilet, and a large enough cockpit for the pilot to lie down. 

The solar-powered plane has no fuel on board and with a wingspan of 236ft (72 metres), it is larger than a Boeing 747-8I jet liner. It weighs around the same as a car at 382 stone (2,300kg)

Adopting this idea by other countries will help us to conserve energy. With more improvement in technology, we can adopt the same for all the airplanes!