bomberaza
04-03-05, 07:38 AM
Solo pilot Steve Fossett has completed a daring bid to circumnavigate the globe in a single flight, overcoming a fuel scare and extreme fatigue.
The GlobalFlyer aircraft touched down just before 1:50 p.m. local time Thursday in Salina, Kan. (11:50 a.m. PT), where its journey had begun GlobalFlyer two days earlier. The total flight time was approximately 67 hours, well ahead of the goal of 80 hours.
Beyond that, the 60-year-old Fossett made aviation history with the first solo nonstop flight around the world. Less than four hours after takeoff, however, there was an early threat of failure when the plane's fuel tank registered a 2,600-pound loss of fuel.
Weather conditions were crucial to the decision to continue the flight. Tailwinds of between 100 and 130 knots helped the plane across the Pacific Ocean from the coast of Japan to Hawaii.
Getting the aircraft past Hawaii hinged on the success of a critical procedure to ensure that fuel drained properly through GlobalFlyer's 17 tanks. It's unclear whether the initial fuel loss was caused by a leak or by evaporation.
The custom-built plane was designed by Burt Rutan, the designer of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne. Its slender 114-foot wingspan--two and a half times the plane's length--is interrupted by a small cockpit/engine structure and two external booms that house landing gear and fuel.
The effort is being sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, the airline run by entrepreneur and adventurer Sir Richard Branson.
SOURCE (http://news.com.com/Mission+accomplished+in+round-the-world+flight/2100-7337_3-5597968.html?tag=nefd.top)
The GlobalFlyer aircraft touched down just before 1:50 p.m. local time Thursday in Salina, Kan. (11:50 a.m. PT), where its journey had begun GlobalFlyer two days earlier. The total flight time was approximately 67 hours, well ahead of the goal of 80 hours.
Beyond that, the 60-year-old Fossett made aviation history with the first solo nonstop flight around the world. Less than four hours after takeoff, however, there was an early threat of failure when the plane's fuel tank registered a 2,600-pound loss of fuel.
Weather conditions were crucial to the decision to continue the flight. Tailwinds of between 100 and 130 knots helped the plane across the Pacific Ocean from the coast of Japan to Hawaii.
Getting the aircraft past Hawaii hinged on the success of a critical procedure to ensure that fuel drained properly through GlobalFlyer's 17 tanks. It's unclear whether the initial fuel loss was caused by a leak or by evaporation.
The custom-built plane was designed by Burt Rutan, the designer of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne. Its slender 114-foot wingspan--two and a half times the plane's length--is interrupted by a small cockpit/engine structure and two external booms that house landing gear and fuel.
The effort is being sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, the airline run by entrepreneur and adventurer Sir Richard Branson.
SOURCE (http://news.com.com/Mission+accomplished+in+round-the-world+flight/2100-7337_3-5597968.html?tag=nefd.top)