With all four engines at full power, HB-SIA is only as powerful as a motor scooter.

ECONOMIST: Solar-powered manned flight

The complex skeleton of HB-SIA is constructed from carbon-fibre composites formed into honeycomb and sandwich structures.

ECONOMIST: Solar-powered manned flight

The current aircraft HB-SIA is effectively the prototype for the craft that will eventually be used for transoceanic flights and the round-the-world trip.

BBC: Solar Impulse plane lands in Phoenix

This aircraft, HB-SIB, is intended to operate in stints of around five days and nights.

ECONOMIST: Solar-powered manned flight

That is why the sponsors of HB 3328 decided to use it as the procedure for the hydraulic fracturing disclosure law.

FORBES: Clearing The Air On Hydraulic Fracturing Laws In Texas

The HB-SIA craft was piloted by Bertrand Piccard, a co-founder of the effort, who is perhaps best known for being the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon, in 1999.

BBC: Solar Impulse plane lands in Phoenix