Fossett makes history
Adventurer Steve Fossett completed the first nonstop, solo flight around the world without refueling on Thursday afternoon, landing gracefully in Kansas at 2:49 pm ET.
A cheering crowd gathered to usher the GlobalFlyer and its 60-year-old pilot into the record books, something that has become almost routine for Fossett in recent years. The aviator now holds three record-breaking circumnavigations of the globe, the two others by balloon and sailboat.
"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," Fossett said as he stepped out of the plane, his legs wobbly after nearly three days in the cockpit. "It has been a major ambition of mine."
The journey across three oceans and dozens of countries began in Salina, Kansas, on Monday evening. The 25,000-mile (40,234-kilometer) voyage took 67 hours and two minutes. It was financed by Fossett's longtime friend and investor, Richard Branson, who heads Virgin Atlantic Airways.
As GlobalFlyer approached the airport, Fossett deployed small parachutes to slow the craft down. After touching down smoothly, Fossett taxied the plane toward a hangar. Branson waved a black-and-white checkered flag as the jet came to a stop, and Fossett's flight team opened a bottle of champagne on the runway.
GlobalFlyer was built by Scaled Composites, the same firm that designed the world's first civilian manned spacecraft, SpaceShipOne. Burt Rutan, aerospace engineer and head of Scaled Composites, said the plane and the pilot performed admirably.
Despite the successful homecoming, the GlobalFlyer encountered challenges. At one point, controllers thought the plane would run out of fuel far short of its target. Over Hawaii, Fossett and his team considered abandoning the trip when they discovered the experimental plane was about 2,600 pounds of fuel short after takeoff. The team speculated that fuel was vented from four tanks shortly after takeoff.
Fossett decided to press on because of favorable tailwinds. "If I have engine trouble, there will be no trouble with gliding," Fossett had said earlier. When more data arrived, projections showed the fuel would be sufficient for the entire 25,000-mile trip.