07 March 2005
 
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Global Flyer successfully circles the globe

  • 10:52 04 March 2005
  • NewScientist.com news service
  • Kelly Young

Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to complete an around-the-world solo trip without refuelling after a 67-hour flight in an experimental aircraft on Thursday.

"Wow, that was something I've wanted to do for a long time - it has been a major ambition," Fossett said after stepping out of the Global Flyer aircraft at the Salina Municipal Airport in Kansas, US. The three-hulled plane touched down at 1350 local time (1950 GMT), gaining Fossett yet another world record for his growing collection.

Richard Branson - chairman of Virgin Atlantic, which sponsored the flight - doused Fossett with champagne. "Can you walk?" he asked the pilot. Fossett appeared slightly unsteady on his feet, after being crammed into the small cockpit for three days solid with nothing but catnaps and diet milkshakes to keep him going.

"Although Steve must be exhausted after his epic journey, he is clearly exhilarated to have set a new record," Branson said. Fossett has already set world records in balloons, airships, gliders, subsonic aircraft and boats.

Gusting tailwinds

For a time, it looked like Global Flyer would not live up to its name. Fossett ran into trouble Wednesday when Mission Control discovered that 1179 kilograms of fuel had mysteriously vanished from the craft's 13 tanks. The team considered landing the plane in Japan, and then in Hawaii, but decided to press on across the Pacific Ocean after the plane got a push from gusting tailwinds.

Mission Control had anticipated that Fossett could complete the journey in under 80 hours. In fact, he made the round trip in just 67 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds. Chase planes accompanied him during his descent over silos, barns and farmland in Kansas. Then Fossett successfully deployed an orange and white drogue parachute to help the plane slow down before touchdown.

Global Flyer, a single engine plane made of composite material was built by Scaled Composites, the same company responsible for SpaceShipOne, the first private sub-orbital crewed spacecraft. Virgin Atlantic and Scaled Composites are teaming up again to build spaceships for high-flying tourists.

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