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Solar-Powered Plane Leaves Spain For Egypt

The experimental solar-powered airplane is in the penultimate leg of its globe-circling voyage.

(AP Photo/Laura Leon, File)
(AP Photo/Laura Leon, File)

An experimental solar-powered airplane has left Spain for Egypt in the penultimate leg of its globe-circling voyage.

Organizers said the Solar Impulse 2 flew out of Seville airport Monday and was heading for Cairo.

The flight, piloted by Swiss man Andre Borschberg, is expected to last 50 hours and 30 minutes.

The around-the-world voyage began in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and is due to finish there too.

(AP Photo/Laura Leon, File)(AP Photo/Laura Leon, File)

The plane arrived in Seville on June 23 after an unprecedented three-day flight across the Atlantic.

The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.