Solar plane prepares for international flight
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - A team of Swiss adventurers are preparing their solar-powered plane for its first international flight next month.
The Solar Impulse team says the flights to Belgium and France are a big challenge because the plane will need to navigate across international air traffic networks.
The single-seater prototype with the wingspan of a Boeing 777 made its 2009 maiden flight in Switzerland and further tests have all taken place there.
Pilot Andre Borschberg said the success of the first cross-border flights depends on the team receiving authorization from national authorities.
The team says it will ready the plane from May 2 and take off to Brussels when weather conditions are right.
The plane is expected at the 49th International Paris Air Show from June 20-26.
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The company applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) last week for various changes, including a "system access charge" of $8 per kilowatt monthly on net metered installations. The vast majority of the province's 4,100 net metering customers are residential customers with solar power, according to the application.
The proposed charge…
