California IN BRIEF : DESERT CENTER : Solar Plane Makes Emergency Landing

The pilot of an ultralight solar airplane making a cross-country journey was forced to make his second emergency landing because of unfavorable conditions, a spokesman said. Eric Raymond took off in his Sun-Seeker aircraft at 12:15 p.m. CDT Friday from Clinton, Mo., spokesman Jack Whitehouse said. His flight lasted less than three hours and covered 42 miles. Raymond was forced to land in a grass field in Deepwater, Mo., because weak thermals would not lift the plane over the Harry S. Truman Reservoir, Whitehouse said. Whitehouse has tracked Raymond’s flight from the California airfield where it began Aug. 2. The plane has been grounded for four days during the two weeks because of insufficient thermals. Raymond had hoped to reach his final destination of Kitty Hawk, N.C., on Sunday--in celebration of National Aviation Day, Whitehouse said.