Solo pilot sets round-the-world record
Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett landed safely Thursday at
the Kansas airport where he started his nonstop, round-the-world trek —
becoming the first man ever to make such a flight solo and without
refueling.
"That was a big one," Fossett said with a laugh as he climbed out of the airplane and hugged his wife, Peggy.
The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer touched down at 1:50 p.m. CT Thursday
— just over 67 hours after it took off from the Salina airport in
central Kansas on Monday evening. In all, Fossett traveled 23,000 miles
(36,800 kilometers) around the world.
Crowds of spectators lined the airstrip and cheered as the plane rolled down the runway.
"Fossett, you're a stud," one mission controller told him during the final approach.
Sir Richard Branson, who financed the mission, greeted Fossett with
hugs and then sprayed him with champagne. The Virgin Atlantic founder is
a longtime friend and fellow adventurer of Fossett's.
Amid the congratulations, Fossett paid tribute to the team that built
his swoopy, composite-construction airplane and supported the mission.
"I'm really a fortunate guy to have spearheaded this," he said.
Problem overcome
An apparent problem in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer's
fuel system had prompted Fossett to consider ending the flight in
Hawaii. As he flew over the Pacific on Wednesday, fuel-tank sensors
indicated that he might not have enough fuel to complete the world
circuit. But Paul Moore, the GlobalFlyer project director, said
favorable tail winds and a shifting of fuel from the plane's outermost
tanks gave Fossett the confidence to press on.
It was not clear whether the fuel-system problem was due to an actual shortage or false readings from the sensors.
In a radio transmission from his cockpit on Wednesday night, Fossett
sounded tired and said he felt as if he was experiencing "four nights in
two and a half days." But as the finish line loomed closer, Fossett's
spirits rose.
Public interest in the adventure rose as well: Moore noted that the
GlobalFlyer Web site
had received 76 million hits as of Wednesday. Mission organizers
reported that the Web site was sending out 80 million bits of data per
second on Thursday morning. They had to upgrade their computer firepower
to cope with the traffic.
The history of an adventure
Until the fuel crisis arose, the most serious glitch had
been an intermittent navigation problem experienced as Fossett was
crossing the U.S.-Canada border.
A century of flightDuring
the flight, Fossett survived on diet milkshakes — “low-residue”
nourishment that cut down on solid waste disposal needs during the
flight, spokeswoman Lori Levin said. Fossett's flight suit was equipped
with a collection bag and tubes to deal with nature's call.
As for sleep, Fossett tried to take 30-minute "power naps" during
stretches of the flight, after passing control over to an autopilot
system. But the naps turned out to last only a few minutes at a time,
with Fossett anxiously keeping an eye on the plane's indicators.
Fossett already is noted for being the first to fly solo around the
globe in a balloon, a milestone achieved in 2002, and holds dozens of
other aviation and sailing records.
Aviation pioneer Wiley Post made the first solo around-the-world trip
in 1933, but he took more than seven days and stopped numerous times.
Later, in-flight refueling enabled military planes to circumnavigate the
globe without stopping.
The first nonstop global flight without refueling was made in 1986 by
Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, in the propeller-driven Voyager airplane.
That trip took nine days, three minutes and 44 seconds — illustrating
how far airplane technology has come in 19 years. Dick Rutan's brother,
Burt Rutan, was the designer of the GlobalFlyer and the Voyager as well
as SpaceShipOne, which last year became
the first privately developed craft
to soar into outer space.
On Wednesday, Fossett broke the record for the longest nonstop,
unrefueled flight by a jet. That particular record — 12,532 miles
(20,168 kilometers) — was set by a B-52 bomber in 1962.
Sir Richard Branson sprays Steve Fossett with champagne shortly after
Fossett landed the GlobalFlyer in Salina, Kan., on Thursday.
