A lightweight, solar-powered plane built by British defence and security technology company QinetiQ has broken a world record for unmanned flight by staying aloft for 54 hours, the firm said Monday.
The Zephyr, which has an 18-metre (59-feet) wingspan and weighs just 30 kilogrammes (66 pounds), smashed the previous best of 30 hours 24 minutes by nearly a whole day, flying to a maximum height of 58,355 feet.
It then flew a second time, again beating the previous benchmark set by a jet-powered US Air Force plane six years ago with a time of 33 hours 43 minutes to a height of 52,247 feet.
(via yahoo)
