Andre Borschberg piloted the Solar Impulse plane for 26 hours straight.

The Solar Impulse aircraft made history with the first round the clock flight using energy from drawn the sun thanks to ultra efficient electronics and lightweight materials.

The beige and silver grey prototype, registered HB-SIA, was largely made out of composite materials and complex alloys, to marry the wing span of a Airbus A340 intercontinental airliner with a weight of just 1,600 kilogrammes.

The 12,000 ultra thin solar cells, spread over a wing area equivalent to 200 square metres, fed a 400 kilogramme load of lithium polymer batteries, which have still not reached mass production electric cars.

With no automatic pilot, Borschberg needed to remain permanently alert for the entire 26 hour flight.