Free Republic

Adventurer Steve Fossett on Friday altered his route over the Atlantic Ocean to make up for lost fuel and weak winds in his quest to break aviation's distance record. Fossett originally planned to fly his lightweight experimental plane on a northeasterly path across the Atlantic that would allow Newfoundland to serve as an emergency landing site. But the adjusted path has Fossett crossing Florida, where he began his nonstop trip early Wednesday, and taking a more southerly path on the flight's last leg to take advantage of better winds. He planned to land Saturday in Kent, England. "The guys at...

Fossett lifts off in bid to break record MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After a white-knuckle takeoff, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett soared out over the Atlantic in a bony-looking experimental airplane Wednesday on a quest to break the 25,000-mile record for the world's longest aircraft flight. Fossett squeezed into the tiny cockpit, kissed his wife goodbye and set out on the planned, 3 1/2-day nonstop journey, taking off from the Kennedy Space Center on a nearly three-mile runway that is normally used by space shuttles when they return to Earth. His plane, the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer,...

SALINA, Kan. - First by balloon, now by plane, Steve Fossett is once again a 'round-the-world record holder. The millionaire adventurer on Thursday became the first person to fly around the world alone without stopping or refueling, touching down in central Kansas after a 67-hour, 23,000-mile journey that appeared endangered at times by a troubled fuel system. Fossett, who failed five times before successfully circumnavigating the globe solo in a balloon, needed just one try to make the trip in a plane. He holds many other records as a balloonist, pilot and sailor. Fossett's GlobalFlyer, designed by the same engineer...

Fossett nears Pakistan in world flight US adventurer Steve Fossett was approaching the coast of Pakistan late on Tuesday after overcoming a navigation equipment problem that threatened to derail his historic bid to make the first non-stop flight around the world without refuelling. Fossett, who took off from here in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer on Monday for a flight expected to last between 60 and 80 hours, said he had to deal with a number of "dramas" during takeoff but the flight was going well overall. At 03:30 GMT, Fossett was at 14 700m and had been in the air...

Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett took off Monday night on his attempt to become the first person to complete a solo trip around the world in an airplane without making a single stop. Fossett, the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, launched his GlobalFlyer from the Salina Municipal Airport shortly before 7 p.m., beginning a 66-hour journey by climbing northeast into a darkening sky. Hundreds of spectators, braving a bitterly cold wind, gathered along the two-mile runway to watch the takeoff. Fossett hoped to return to Salina on Thursday morning. The 23,000-mile flight had already been postponed...

SALINA, Kan. - Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett was the first person to circle the globe solo in a hot-air balloon. Now, he wants to make the trip in a single-engine airplane without stopping — another aviation first. Fossett, 60, hoped to take off in his GlobalFlyer on Monday afternoon at Salina Municipal Airport and land there again about 66 hours later. The 23,000-mile flight had already been postponed several times because of shifting jet stream patterns or weather at Salina. "I'm a bit nervous about takeoff," said Fossett, who has logged about 30 hours in the jet-powered aircraft. "I will...

Look up. Waaaaaaay up. If the weather cooperates — and if you've got a decent telescope or truly astonishing eyesight, you might just catch a glimpse of history in the faint contrail of a high-flying jet on Monday. At the controls of that jet will be one man, trying to crack arguably the final major aviation milestone: to fly around the world, alone, in a single non-stop flight. "This is the last great aviation record to be had," said Lori Levin, spokesperson for the Virgin Group, sponsor of the flight. "No one has ever flown solo around the world (non-stop)."...

MOJAVE - The Mojave-built Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is getting ready to visit the American heartland . Pilot Steve Fossett will depart from the Salina Municipal Airport in central Kansas when he sets forth on a record-setting attempt to fly solo nonstop around the world in the coming months. Mission Control for the flight will be nearby at Kansas State University, Salina's College of Technology and Aviation. The flight is tentatively set to take off in early February. Unveiled at Scaled Composites' facility at the Mojave Airport a year ago, the aircraft is another distinctive design from aviation mastermind Burt Rutan....

MOJAVE - Burt Rutan's latest record-attempting aircraft took its first steps toward the record books Friday with the inaugural test flight of the GlobalFlyer at Mojave Airport. Unveiled before international media in January, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is designed to take on what Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson calls the "last great aviation record on Earth" - a solo, nonrefueled flight around the world. The historic attempt, expected later this year, will be piloted by Steve Fossett, who already holds several aviation records, including the first solo, around-the-world balloon flight. Designed by Rutan and built at his Scaled Composites, LLC...

With lights, music and smoke befitting a rock concert, legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan's latest creation rolled out in view of a global media throng Thursday. The star of this show was a noble steed commissioned by an entrepreneurial British knight for a venture drawing comparison to Charles Lindbergh's "lone eagle" solo flight to Paris. The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is designed to take on what Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson calls the "last great aviation record on Earth" - a solo, nonrefueled flight around the world. The historic attempt, expected later this year, will be piloted by Steve Fossett, who...

Virgin Atlantic Airways plans to use a Scaled Composites aircraft in an attempt next year to complete the first solo nonstop circumnavigation of the globe. The aircraft, dubbed the GlobalFlyer, will be flown by either Steve Fossett or Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson. Branson is acting as the reserve pilot. The aim is to complete the flight in less than 80 hr. The Burt Rutan-designed, composite-material aircraft has a maximum gross weight of 22,066 lb. and an empty weight of 3,577 lb., which allows for 18,000 lb. of fuel. Wingspan is 114 ft. The GlobalFlyer is powered by a single...