A 78-HOUR FLIGHT FOSSETT AIMS FOR THIRD FLYING RECORD.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

MOJAVE - Adventurer Steve Fossett took off Tuesday morning in the Mojave-built GlobalFlyer in a bid for a third distance record, this time for the longest flight over a closed circuit without landing.

GlobalFlyer lifted off from the airport at Salina, Kansas, early Tuesday morning on what is projected to be a 78-hour flight that will cover some 25,181 miles.

Carrying more than nine tons of fuel, the jet used all but the last 1,000 feet of the airport's 12,300-foot runway to become airborne, according to a Web site set up by Kansas State University, which is serving as Fossett's ground crew for the mission.

Fossett is attempting to break the 24,986.7-mile record set in 1986 by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in another Mojave-built aircraft, the Voyager. Both GlobalFlyer and Voyager were designed by Burt Rutan, Dick's brother.

A closed-circuit course means the aircraft will take off and land in the same location, in this case Salina.

In February 2005, Fossett flew the GlobalFlyer around the world to claim the first solo nonstop flight around the world. That flight also originated and ended in Salina; however, at approximately 22,876 miles, it did not surpass the distance of Voyager's around-the-world flight.

Fossett's flight path took him northeast across Michigan and into Canada before heading across the Atlantic. The flight path calls for Fossett to go over northern Africa, the Middle East, India, China, the Pacific Ocean, Baja California and then back into the United States.

Fossett's attempt is coming just a few weeks after he set a record for the longest flight, a 26,389.3-mile journey in February. In that flight, Fossett flew GlobalFlyer from Kennedy Space Center in Florida completely around the world and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean for a second time, landing in Bournemouth in the United Kingdom.

GlobalFlyer was commissioned by Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin companies, including Virgin Atlantic airlines.

At the start of the flight, the plane weighed 22,006 pounds, with the fuel weight causing the airplane's wings to sag. At the end of the flight, the airplane will weigh less than 4,000 pounds.

Fossett's progress can be monitored by visiting the mission Web site at http://www.salina.k-state.edu/globalflyer.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com

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(ran in AV edition only) Adventurer Steve Fossett is now airborne on a quest to break the record for longest flight over a closed circuit without landing. His choice of craft? The Mojave-built GlobalFlyer, shown here.