The Solo Flight Record
Jackie Chang might have made a dramatic voyage around the world making millions laugh, but Steve Fossett's 3-days adventure has definitely made millions more astounded of the latest aviation triumph as he flew the Virgin GlobalFlyer to achieve the first solo, non-stop flight around the world.
Mr. Fossett, 60, who took off from Salina, Kansas on Tuesday was airborne for two and a half days (67 hours) until he touched down a few minutes ago at his take off point (on Thursday at 13:50 local time) to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe alone without stopping or refueling. Congrats Mr. Fossett and the Global Flyer Team!
The vehicle had a good start and maintained its performance until the second day where Mr. Forsset faced some problems when checks revealed that the vehicle was missing 1,200kg of fuel. Flying above Hawaii at that time, he had considered aborting the trip and landing. But luckily the Flight experienced favorable tail winds between Japan and Hawaii. Another advantage was Global Flyer’s ability of glide up to about 200 miles without any fuel. As I observed during final few miles of the journey, this was put into use well to make a successful flight and a touchdown at its primary destination.
There aren't many great aviation records left to be had. This is perhaps - apart from space - the last great aviation record for Earth - Sir Richard Branson
The Global Flyer still at its experimental stages is powered by a Williams FJ44-3 ATW that generates 10,200 Newtons of thrust and runs at 250 knots with a fuel tank that weighs 10 tonnes. It is a project of Virgin Atlantic and is sponsored by Richard Branson and managed by Paul Moore.
As Mr. Fossett and Mission Control celebrate their success I too have my small thing to be proud of. Well, after endless tries I finally managed to get my Private Pilot License in Flight Simulation. uuhmm.. Well, not bad for a start eh? Anyway, that would be for my mom, who's adding one more year to her life today. Happy B'day Ma! Guess, this will be a day of celebration for many years to come!
Visit the Globe Flyer Home which includes info on the Attempt, the Aircraft, the Mission Logs of the journey and much more.
Naz 
Thursday, March 03, 2005 | 
Comments (4)
Comments
Whoa! So he did it! I can tell you that when a pilot is in doubt of whether the bird would fly that far, no one else could say otherwise. But Sir Richard is not someone who would throw away such a triumph for just a matter of the disappearence of fuel.
I watched the touchdown, it was awesome!! Bryson was on the flight which accompanied the Gloabl Flyer during the landing. Fossett at that age must be a very proud man to have yet another record on his belt. I can still remember his journey on the balloon!
Now, he doesn't have to say he's a really lucky guy!
Oh! and apparently there is another one to congratulate, right? I know how badly u needed it. Well done man.. it is a good start, if u ask me. :)
Hehe! thankies.. and your very right.. luck was bound to find him, but he sure had his firmness intact.
Mission Control hasn't been able to explain the fuel discrepancy. The last thing they would want to reveal is that they filled the tanks halfway. But I guess that could wait, as Mr. Fossett is busy with the hot lunch Bryson promised him! :D
isn't it a beauty!
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