But Don't Expected Fuel-Cell Powered 747s Just Yet...

The largest unmanned aircraft yet flying only on hydrogen fuel has passed it first test.

MSNBC reports the plane flew for up to a minute at a time and as high as 12 feet during recent tests conducted by Georgia Tech. The plane, with a 22-foot-wingspan, is powered by a fuel-cell system that generates 500 watts -- equal to five bright light bulbs.

"That raises a lot of eyebrows," said Adam Broughton, a research engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, to MSNBC. "Five hundred watts is plenty of power for a light bulb, but not for the propulsion system of an aircraft this size."

So, how did it manage to take off? Broughton credits the design and geometry of the aircraft, and the controlling subsystem technology used for making the feat possible.

Broughton and his colleagues were thinking outside the box and found creative ways to get rid of extra weight on the aircraft, as well as reduce drag. In just one example, the team borrowed a hydrogen tank from... a paintball gun.

Not only is the fact this plane actually flew flew exciting news, environmentalists will love it because it did so without harming the environment.

Fuel cells create electrical current by converting hydrogen and oxygen into water -- making the technology pollution-free.

Despite the encouraging news... current fuel cells don't produce enough power to power larger aircraft. So, you can't expect to fly in a 747 powered by these fuel cells just yet... but researchers believe this is a viable power solution and the fuel cells could provide an alternative for smaller and slower vehicles such as the unmanned aerial vehicles.

FMI: www.asdl.gatech.edu