A Solar Impulse airplane prototype built in Switzerland has completed its first test flight.

The pilot took the aircraft up to take off speed, just one metre off the ground for a distance of 350 metres at the Dübendorf airfield near Zurich.

Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, who wants to make the first ever sun-powered global flight with the airplane, said this flight confirmed the choice of technical equipment.

The next phase will be proper test flights in 2010, however solar panels have yet to be mounted.