A solar-powered airplane made a smooth trip on Monday from Texas to a stormy part of America – St. Louis, where the Solar Impulse team put a portable, inflatable hangar to its first real-world test.
The third leg of Solar Impulse’s “Across America” odyssey may not have been a record-setting trip like last week’s flight from Phoenix to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. But St. Louis could rank as the plane’s most challenging layover to date.
Solar Impulse arrived just days after a powerful storm swept through Lambert St. Louis-International Airport, damaging buildings and strewing the runway with debris. That meant the plane’s intended hangar wouldn’t be available – but Solar Impulse’s team said the flight had to go forward anyway.
For the complete story by Alan Boyle of NBCNews.com, click here.
Photo by Solar Impulse via Reuters