The Quest for Perpetual Flight The advantages of such aircraft are enormous, begging the question: Why aren't they already dotting the horizon? Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor -- Design News, September 26, 2005 In the middle of the night on June 1st, Alan Cocconi's "pilots" were holed up in a little 5×8-ft trailer in the California desert, glancing over each other's shoulders at the virtual gages on three computer screens, trying to keep their airplane aloft. Their task, even for instrument-rated flyers, was a formidable one: Maintain altitude by navigating from the ground, while looking only at telemetry data....