ROAD PROJECT TAKING OFF OFFICIALS SEEK FUNDS FOR PATH PLANT, AIRPORT.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer MOJAVE - Adventurer Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (born April 22, 1944 - missing September 3, 2007) is an American aviator, sailor and adventurer. Fossett made his fortune in the financial services industry and is best known for many world records including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a flew the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer (FAA: N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in a time of 67 hours 1 minute from February 28, 2005 until March 3, 2005. from Mojave to a Kansas airport Thursday in preparation for an attempt next month to make the first solo nonstop flight around the world. Built by Mojave's Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (born June 17, 1943 in Estacada, Oregon) is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft. for billionaire Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 in Shamley Green, Surrey, England), is a British entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 , the spindly spin·dly adj. spin·dli·er, spin·dli·est Slender and elongated, especially in a way that suggests weakness. spindly Adjective [-dlier, -dliest jet took off from Mojave Airport at 9:30 a.m. Thursday accompanied by two aircraft. It landed in Kansas about 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. The flight was conducted without fanfare. Only a handful of people were on hand for the takeoff. About 150 people were present for its arrival at Salina Salina (səlī`nə), city (1990 pop. 42,303), seat of Saline co., central Kans., on the Smoky Hill River; founded 1858 by settlers opposed to slavery, inc. 1870. , Kan., observers said. The aircraft was accompanied by a small cadre from Rutan's Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled), formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States and is headed by aircraft designer Burt Rutan. , including GlobalFlyer's chief test pilot Jon Karkow, said Anna Burdsall, spokeswoman for Virgin. Rutan and Branson, the founder of Virgin, were not present for the arrival. The Municipal Salina Airport was picked as the starting and ending point for the trip because of its location near the geographic center of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Project officials said the airport has excellent facilities, including a 12,300-foot runway. The solo nonstop flight is expected to start in early February. Branson is bankrolling the $2.5 million effort. Branson is also serving as the project's reserve pilot in the event Fossett cannot make the flight. Fossett previously was the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world. Branson has labeled the upcoming trans-world flight as the last great aviation record. Branson has put it on a par with Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Rutan has made a record-setting globe-circling airplane before. He designed and built Voyager, a plane his brother, Dick Rutan, and co-pilot Jeana Yeager flew around the world nonstop, unrefueled, in 1986 in nine days. GlobalFlyer is expected to make the journey in about 80 hours. The jet-powered GlobalFlyer will also be a much higher-flying aircraft than the propeller-driven Voyager, which flew under 20,500 feet. GlobalFlyer is expected to fly as high as 52,000 feet - higher than jetliners. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Pilot Steve Fossett flew Virgin Atlantic's GlobalFlyer, built by Burt Rutan, to Kansas on Thursday in advance of his planned nonstop flight of the craft solo around the world. Here the plane is shown on its first flight, last March. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion