Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard's team took its round-the-world solar plane prototype into the skies for the first time Wednesday, with four propellers lifting the massive craft off the ground at near bicycle speed. Piccard said the two-hour test flight will examine if the plane, with the wingspan of a Boeing 747 and the weight of a small car, can keep a straight trajectory. The team plans to fly it around the world next year. At a military airport in the Swiss countryside, the “Solar Impulse” plane lifted off after only a short acceleration on the runway, reaching a speed no faster than 45 kph (28 mph). It slowly gained altitude and disappeared eventually into the horizon. The big takeoff is planned for 2012, and it will use not an ounce of fuel.
