The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft has completed the longest continuous flight in human history without consuming a single drop of fuel.

The sun-powered plane touched down gracefully in Hawaii on the weekend, after an incredible five-day flight from Japan.

Solar Impulse was piloted by veteran Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg for the eighth (and longest) leg of its round-the-world journey.

Borschberg completed the history-making flight after a staggering 118 hours in an unheated, unpressurised box powered only by the Sun.

Solar Impusle 2 uses 17,000 solar cells to charges its on-board lithium batteries, allowing it to fly through the night.

Its wingspan is wider than a jumbo jet, but it weighs just over 2 tonnes - about the same as a car.

The 6,500 kilometre run from Japan to Hawaii is not only the world's longest solar-powered flight in both flying time and distance - it also set the record for longest solo flight by time.

The Swiss aviator snatched catnaps of just 20 minutes at a time, so that he could maintain control of the pioneering plane.

Travelling at altitudes over 9,000 metres, Mr Borschberg had to use oxygen tanks to maintain his breathing, as well as dealing with wild swings in temperature.

Mission organisers said the journey took “pilot and aircraft to the limits” of their endurance.