The demonstration flight saw the single-seat craft -- with a wing span of 102 feet -- taking off, using 160 Oxyride dry-cell AA batteries. The Oxyride battery is about 1.5 times more powerful than an alkaline battery.
The plane has been developed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology in collaboration with the Panasonic Project.
The first manned aircraft powered by 160 Oxyride Dry Cell AA batteries.
Photograph: Koichi Kamoshida / Getty Images