But Solar Impulse, with the wing-span of a jumbo jet, can carry just one person. Solar Impulse equals a Boeing 747 in size, but weighs only two tonnes. Pilot Bertrand Piccard snaps a selfie in Solar Impulse as he heads for Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, and a touchdown that marked the end of a round-the-world trip completely powered by the sun. You can't just scale Solar Impulse up and get an electric-powered commercial aircraft that carries 50 people, let alone the 500 passengers that they can jam into a long-haul 747 or A380. Commercial aircraft are responsible for about 2% of the human race's carbon dioxide emissions.

Source: Bangkok Post July 26, 2016 22:07 UTC