UK built 'eternal plane' lands

US PLUCKY BRITS have built the world's first 'eternal airplane'.

Somewhere high above a military airbase over Arizona, a Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was forced to return to earth after flying for two weeks.

The UAV was crafted by English hands and designed with wing to wing solar panels. The wings also have a lightweight carbon fibre structure with a Mylar film over the surface. Add a couple of props and that's about all you'll get on the UAV.

Project manager John Marsh told the BBC that the UAV has a good flight control system that means it flies at 60,000 feet without a pilot.

The batteries are about 30 per cent of the overall weight of the craft and use state of the art lithium sulphur. Why the Beeb insists on weight analogies we'll never know but we can confirm that each battery is 250g, or about the same as a block of butter. At least the BBC refrained from describing anything on the plane in terms of double decker buses or football fields.

There have been several iterations of the Zephyr that have already broken previous records for unmanned flight. But none flew for as long as this latest design.

The Qinetiq company said the plane smashed UAV records and could have stayed in the air longer. Now out of the experimental phase, the eternal plane is expected to glide into reconnaissance and observation work. µ