English Original
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.
中文翻译
福塞特创造历史
冒险家史蒂夫·福塞特于周四下午完成了世界上首次单人、不间断、无空中加油的环球飞行，并于美国东部时间下午2点49分优雅地降落在堪萨斯州。
欢呼的人群聚集在一起，见证“环球飞行者”号及其60岁的飞行员载入史册。近年来，这对福塞特来说几乎已是常态。这位飞行家现已保持三项环球航行世界纪录，另外两项分别是驾驶热气球和帆船完成的。
“这是我长久以来的梦想，”福塞特走下飞机时说。在驾驶舱里呆了近三天后，他的双腿有些颤抖。“这是我的一大抱负。”
这次穿越三大洋和数十个国家的旅程于周一晚上从堪萨斯州的萨利纳开始。这段25,000英里（40,234公里）的航程耗时67小时零2分钟。旅行由福塞特的老朋友、维珍大西洋航空公司董事长理查德·布兰森资助。
当“环球飞行者”号接近机场时，福塞特释放了小降落伞以减缓飞机速度。平稳着陆后，福塞特将飞机滑行至机库。飞机停稳时，布兰森挥舞着一面黑白方格旗，福塞特的飞行团队则在跑道上打开了一瓶香槟。
“环球飞行者”号由Scaled Composites公司制造，该公司还设计了世界上第一艘民用载人飞船“太空飞船一号”。航空工程师、Scaled Composites公司负责人伯特·鲁坦表示，飞机和飞行员的表现都令人赞叹。
尽管成功返航，“环球飞行者”号在飞行途中也遇到了挑战。一度，地面控制人员认为飞机燃料将远不足以抵达目标。飞越夏威夷上空时，福塞特和他的团队甚至考虑放弃旅程，因为他们发现这架实验飞机在起飞后燃油短缺约2,600磅。团队推测是起飞后不久四个油箱发生了燃料泄漏。
由于有利的顺风天气，福塞特决定继续前进。“如果引擎出现故障，滑翔也没问题，”福塞特早些时候曾说。当收到更多数据后，预测显示剩余燃料足以完成整个25,000英里的旅程。