| British solar plane sets record by flying non-stop for three days |
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British solar plane sets record by flying non-stop for three days  A British built plane powered entirely by solar power has set a world record for an unmanned flight by staying in the air for more than three days. The Zephyr-6, created by UK defence and research firm QinetiQ, flew continuously for 82 hours, 37 minutes. Solar panels glued to its wings and in-built lithium batteries that store power from the sunlight ready for when it is dark allow the unpiloted plane to run day and night. The flight beats the current official world record of 30 hours, 24 minutes set by the US robot plane Global Hawk in 2001 and the Zephyr's own previous record of 54 hours. However, it will remain unofficial because the Federation Aeronautique Internationale which sanctions all record attempts was not involved. The record was broken at the end of last month above the US army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Britain's Ministry of Defence was also involved in the tests |
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