A French pilot has completed the first flight in an electric-powered plane across the English Channel - just hours before an attempt was about to be launched in Kent.
Hugues Duval flew from the French port of Calais to the English shoreline and back last night, a journey considered an important symbolic step towards making electric flight viable in the long term.
The flight - considered a giant leap in aviation history - was completed before Airbus planned a similar, higher-profile attempt from the UK today.
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Pilot Didier Esteyne is set to fly a battery-powered aircraft across the Channel, from Kent to Calais, this morning.