How long could you last in a plane without landing?

The Solar Impulse 2 (solar powered plane) is going to put some pilots to this test soon enough. Making its maiden voyage Monday from Switzerland, it remained airborne for a couple of hours (test run, I guess?) But its itinerary for next year is a ‘round the world flight sans landing. This is an upgrade from last year’s beta version (which flew across the U.S.), as it has bigger wings and packs 17,200 solar cells with improved batteries. As for the amenities, you ask? While flying in this photon fueled wonder, you can enjoy autopilot settings, room to lie down, a toilet… This mofo could theoretically stay airborne indefinitely.

forever

The only problem is that we don’t have human pilots who can last for quite that long, right?

Wrong. Well, kind of wrong. Science has got a workaround in the works for that shiz too. And it’s called mind-controlled plane technology. (MK-Ultra Aviation? MmmKayviation? Bueller? Bueller?)

And what’s as sick as Bueller (or Cameron, I guess, if we’re being technical) is this skullcap German scientists rigged up. Once connected to these to seven pilots – some of whom weren’t even all that experienced – they were subsequently able to convert their electrical think-impulses into algorithms. That, in turn, churned out some serious remote control mental drone action.

mkplane
(looks like the thing my stylist used to bleach my hair in 1998, destroying it forevermore. #neverforget)

It might look like a tress highlighter – but the only thing it’ll be “foiling” is maybe a few terrorists’ plans. (#zing) F’real – can you imagine how pissed a jihadist would be to break into the cockpit of an iron bird only to learn that all of the pilots are conducting the commercial aircraft from the shitter? And then the plane lands somewhere safe and all the FBI and CIA and bombsquad and the dogs on leashes are all waiting for him?

murica

Oh wait. That’s right. We didn’t come up with it.

Just like we didn’t come up with the solar powered plane.

#murrca!