Global Flyer
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Isle Du Cyber
Posts: 933
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fossett heading for land
With the globel challenger diverting to Bournemouth arriving appro 1710 to day did it create any extra problems for Air Traffic??
It was interesting to watch on the Web and work out the track it was taking untill reading the live lat and long updates and then finding out Bournemouth has had the pleasure
WELL DONE TO STEVE FOSSET AND GLOBEL CHALLANGER AND ALL THE TEAM.
The reason for the diversion was i believe due to a generator failure.
It was interesting to watch on the Web and work out the track it was taking untill reading the live lat and long updates and then finding out Bournemouth has had the pleasure
WELL DONE TO STEVE FOSSET AND GLOBEL CHALLANGER AND ALL THE TEAM.
The reason for the diversion was i believe due to a generator failure.
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: South Africa
Posts: 286
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fossett heading for land
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...6a6a20060211ah
London - US aviator Steve Fossett was on the last half of his solo bid to set a new global benchmark for the longest flight as he piloted his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer over the Pacific Ocean on Friday towards North America.
The 61-year-old adventurer set off Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and has so far crossed the Atlantic Ocean, north Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf, and most of the Pacific.
"Next sighting of land will be Baja Peninsula" in Mexico, according to his website, wwww.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com.
At 01h00 GMT, "Steve Fossett passed the halfway point over Japan and is now heading over the Pacific towards the Baja Peninsula," his website said.
"Everything's going well at the moment," a spokeswoman at mission control in southeast England told AFP. "But there's a challenging time ahead because obviously as he gets towards the coast of the US, the jet streams are going to change."
At 12h30 GMT, Fossett was flying at 444 kilometres per hour and at an altitude of 13 915 metres, according to his website.
The 41 978-kilometre flight, which could take about 80 hours to complete, involves a circumnavigation of the globe plus a second Atlantic crossing to finish in Kent, southeast England.
Richard Branson, the billionaire British entrepreneur and founder of Virgin Atlantic airlines who is backing Fossett's bid, was optimistic, and has put his friend's record-breaking chances at "50/50".
"In recent hours the jet stream has been, and continues to be, very good which is aiding Steve's progress," said Branson in a statement late Thursday.
"But as Steve and I both know from our balloon trip we were together on (a failed attempt to circumnavigate the world non-stop in 1998), it completely dies away after Hawaii."
"This will be a critical decision point in the record attempt as he will have eight hours with no alternate landing points when he reaches this point.
"Mission control will have to do some recalculations of the jet streams and route to ensure it makes sense to continue," he said.
The flight is the second attempt at the longest flight record for Fossett, who has already set records in sailboats, gliders and hot air balloons.
Last March, he landed in Kansas after flying around the globe solo for 67 hours, two minutes and 38 seconds without stopping or refuelling in a trip spanning 36 989 kilometres.
If successful, he will fly 1 126 kilometres further than the 1999 around-the-world balloon trip by Brian Jones, a Briton, and his Swiss partner Bertrand Piccard on the Breitling Orbiter III.
Fossett will also beat the distance record set by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in their nine-day, non-stop trip around the world without refuelling aboard the Voyager aircraft in 1986. That trip logged a total of 40,212 kilometres.
The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer was designed by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, creator of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocketship to go into space in 2004. Rutan also designed the Voyager flown by his brother Dick in 1986.
Measuring 13,4 metres long with a wingspan of 34,7 metres, it weighs 9,98 tons, including eight tonnes of fuel. The cockpit is equipped with an alert system to rouse the pilot if he falls asleep. - Sapa-AFP
London - US aviator Steve Fossett was on the last half of his solo bid to set a new global benchmark for the longest flight as he piloted his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer over the Pacific Ocean on Friday towards North America.
The 61-year-old adventurer set off Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and has so far crossed the Atlantic Ocean, north Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf, and most of the Pacific.
"Next sighting of land will be Baja Peninsula" in Mexico, according to his website, wwww.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com.
At 01h00 GMT, "Steve Fossett passed the halfway point over Japan and is now heading over the Pacific towards the Baja Peninsula," his website said.
"Everything's going well at the moment," a spokeswoman at mission control in southeast England told AFP. "But there's a challenging time ahead because obviously as he gets towards the coast of the US, the jet streams are going to change."
At 12h30 GMT, Fossett was flying at 444 kilometres per hour and at an altitude of 13 915 metres, according to his website.
The 41 978-kilometre flight, which could take about 80 hours to complete, involves a circumnavigation of the globe plus a second Atlantic crossing to finish in Kent, southeast England.
Richard Branson, the billionaire British entrepreneur and founder of Virgin Atlantic airlines who is backing Fossett's bid, was optimistic, and has put his friend's record-breaking chances at "50/50".
"In recent hours the jet stream has been, and continues to be, very good which is aiding Steve's progress," said Branson in a statement late Thursday.
"But as Steve and I both know from our balloon trip we were together on (a failed attempt to circumnavigate the world non-stop in 1998), it completely dies away after Hawaii."
"This will be a critical decision point in the record attempt as he will have eight hours with no alternate landing points when he reaches this point.
"Mission control will have to do some recalculations of the jet streams and route to ensure it makes sense to continue," he said.
The flight is the second attempt at the longest flight record for Fossett, who has already set records in sailboats, gliders and hot air balloons.
Last March, he landed in Kansas after flying around the globe solo for 67 hours, two minutes and 38 seconds without stopping or refuelling in a trip spanning 36 989 kilometres.
If successful, he will fly 1 126 kilometres further than the 1999 around-the-world balloon trip by Brian Jones, a Briton, and his Swiss partner Bertrand Piccard on the Breitling Orbiter III.
Fossett will also beat the distance record set by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in their nine-day, non-stop trip around the world without refuelling aboard the Voyager aircraft in 1986. That trip logged a total of 40,212 kilometres.
The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer was designed by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, creator of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocketship to go into space in 2004. Rutan also designed the Voyager flown by his brother Dick in 1986.
Measuring 13,4 metres long with a wingspan of 34,7 metres, it weighs 9,98 tons, including eight tonnes of fuel. The cockpit is equipped with an alert system to rouse the pilot if he falls asleep. - Sapa-AFP
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fossett sets new non-stop record
According to the BBC
"Fossett flew 26,389.3 miles non-stop, breaking the aeroplane distance record of 24,987 miles as well as the balloon record of 25,361 miles. He landed shortly after 1700 GMT after 76 days and 45 minutes in the cockpit"
Congratulations Steve, I make this just under 14.5 mph!
"Fossett flew 26,389.3 miles non-stop, breaking the aeroplane distance record of 24,987 miles as well as the balloon record of 25,361 miles. He landed shortly after 1700 GMT after 76 days and 45 minutes in the cockpit"
Congratulations Steve, I make this just under 14.5 mph!
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
76 DAYS! with only a bucket for relief!!
76 hr is bad enough giving an average speed of 342mph not 14.5
He had to take Bournemouth due to alleged electrical failure.
Fly around the World with maths like that and see where you end up!
76 hr is bad enough giving an average speed of 342mph not 14.5
He had to take Bournemouth due to alleged electrical failure.
Fly around the World with maths like that and see where you end up!
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Glorious West Sussex
Age: 76
Posts: 1,020
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
BBC have now beefed up the story with some good detail
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4704762.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4704762.stm
Without wishing to detract from the remarkable achievement, land at Bournemouth, ultimate destination Manston? Sounds rather like a low-cost operator to me.
Still goes to show that, while the BBC fails to field an aviation orientated press-pool, they'll continue to shoot themselves in the foot.
Still goes to show that, while the BBC fails to field an aviation orientated press-pool, they'll continue to shoot themselves in the foot.
Silly Old Git
Im struggling with the image of an old coot trying to wipe his bum in a small cockpit.
Bloody humbug...... throw enough money at it he coulda stayed up all month.
Bloody humbug...... throw enough money at it he coulda stayed up all month.
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: SLF, living somewhere East in the West
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fossett brakes yet another record
In the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/national/12plane.html
or the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4704762.stm
Adventurer Steve Fossett has broken the record for the longest non-stop flight in aviation history, landing in dramatic fashion after power failure.
Fossett, 61, took the record as he flew over Shannon in Ireland. In total he has flown 26,389.3 miles around the globe since lift-off on Wednesday.
Generator failure as he descended to Kent prompted him to make a mayday call and divert to Bournemouth. On landing with limited visibility, two tyres burst, but Fossett was unhurt.
(From the BBC webpage, link above)
Best
or the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4704762.stm
Adventurer Steve Fossett has broken the record for the longest non-stop flight in aviation history, landing in dramatic fashion after power failure.
Fossett, 61, took the record as he flew over Shannon in Ireland. In total he has flown 26,389.3 miles around the globe since lift-off on Wednesday.
Generator failure as he descended to Kent prompted him to make a mayday call and divert to Bournemouth. On landing with limited visibility, two tyres burst, but Fossett was unhurt.
(From the BBC webpage, link above)
Best
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 275
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Beeb (or someone) seem to have a problem with the maths
and
1,402 miles from Shannon to Bournemouth?
Fossett, 61, took the record as he flew over Shannon in Ireland.
Fossett flew 26,389.3 miles non-stop, breaking the aeroplane distance record of 24,987 miles as well as the balloon record of 25,361 miles.
1,402 miles from Shannon to Bournemouth?
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Bournemouth, UK
Age: 54
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I couldn't help myself. Had to nip over to Hurn (just around the corner) to have a look. Despite the best efforts of the power-hungery security staff I managed to get within about a quarter of a mile of the aircraft. Strangely I can't decide if the craft is bigger or smaller than I expected. Mobile phone piccies are absolutely cr@p so I won't bother posting them. But at least I've seen a bit of history.
Regards
Stoney
Regards
Stoney