Posted on 03/17/2006 11:38:30 AM PST by oxcart
SALINA, Kan. — Adventurer Steve Fossett said Friday that he had broken the record for flying farther than anyone departing and landing at the same spot, traveling more than 25,000 miles in three days.
Fossett landed his lightweight experimental aircraft at Salina Municipal Airport a few hours ahead of schedule, at 9:06 a.m. CST, more than 74 hours after he took off from the same place.
Certification of the record could take two weeks to a year.
Fossett said he flew about 25,300 miles in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. The previous closed-circuit record of nearly 25,000 miles was set in 1986 by Richard Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
Fossett called the flight "a great satisfaction" but conceded, "It might not mean a lot to people outside of aviation."
The flight came about a year after he flew out of Salina on the world's first solo nonstop trip around the globe. He returned after 23,000 miles and 67 hours. Last month, he broke the record for the world's longest aircraft flight, traveling 26,389 miles in about 76 hours.
Fossett piloted the GlobalFlyer on roughly the same route as the flight he took last year, but he added turns to increase the mileage.
He avoided problems with fuel and generators that had plagued two previous GlobalFlyer flights, but a brake malfunctioned, causing the plane to do a complete turn on the runway after it touched down.
Fossett said he became restless during his three days in the plane.
"Overall this was a very difficult flight because of the amount of time involved," he said. "On the other hand, the flight went very well."
He said he is retiring the GlobalFlyer and may donate it to the Smithsonian Institution.
Aviation(((Ping)))
I love living in a country in which people have the leisure and money to do stuff like this.
The FlyingGasCan
Seriously, nice flight.
It strikes me that Mr. Fossett is searching for significance. He's probably got all the money, women, fame, and thrills he could ever want, yet he's still missing something and I'll bet he's a pretty miserable man at the end of the day. Thankfully, I know what he's missing.
Just two more records and Fossett will hold the record for "most unimportant records held."
Thanks for a fantastic post!
Of interest.
aviation PING! (this is dhak)
I LOVE airplanes! But I think Steve needs some cialis and an energetic girlfriend.
Oh Pish -
I've done the same thing in three cities with 16 hours of meetings in between!
;-)
Oh...The Glamour of Business Travel
He married his wife Peggy in 1967.
Steve Fossett bio;
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,149317,00.html
As a youth, Fossett earned the rank Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts of America by age 13, and later received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Today Fossett is a member of the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
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