With its immense wingspan and low speed it seemed to just hang in the air without moving for 30 seconds. But that was enough for it to fly 350 metres. The whole team held its breath while test pilot Markus Scherdel stabilised the Solar Impulse with a few tweaks of the ailerons before touching down smoothly. André watched the manoeuvre at the controls of a helicopter with a camera installed while I followed the plane on the runway with the test team.

It might just look like a plane doing a flea hop, but in reality it is the entry into a totally new and uncharted domain of flight

Never before in the whole history of aviation - has an aircraft so big, so light and consuming so little energy actually flown. How can I thank such a magnificent team, how can I sufficiently congratulate all those engineers, who, under the supervision of André, have calculated, designed and built this first prototype?

Such a wonderful step forward and we are glad to be able to share it with you, in expectation of the high-altitude flights next spring.