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A RECORD-breaking attempt for a solar-powered plane to fly around the world without using a single drop of fuel began today.
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft took off from Abu Dhabi and is expected to reach its first destination in Oman after around 10 hours of flight.
Over the next five months the jet will go from country to country crossing both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the process.
The jet took off around 3:12AM GMT with Solar Implulse founder Andre Borschberg at the helm of the single seater aircraft.
He will trade places with Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard during stop-overs on a journey that is expected to finish in late July or August.
The Swiss pilots say their aim is to create awareness about replacing "old polluting technologies with clean and efficient technologies."
Solar Impulse supporter Prince Albert of Monaco was present at the principality's control centre during today's takeoff.
Some legs of the epic flight will mean five or six straight days of flying solo for the pilots.
The lightweight plane is a larger version of a single-seat prototype that first flew five years ago.
It is made of carbon fibre and has 17,248 solar cells built into the wing that supply the plane with renewable energy.
The solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries.
Solar Impulse said the jet has a larger wingspan that a Boeing 747 passenger jet, but weighs much less - about as much as a car.
In June, the plane made an inaugural flight of two hours and 17 minutes above western Switzerland, just two months after it was unveiled.
After heading to Oman the plane will travel to India where it will make two stops.
It will then head to China and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, before journeying across the Pacific and stopping in Hawaii.
The sun-powered plane will then fly to Arizona and John F. Kennedy International, New York City's biggest airport.
The path across the Atlantic will depend on the weather and could include a stop in southern Europe or Morocco before ending back where it began in Abu Dhabi.
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