American adventurer Steve Fossett was flying over southern China on Wednesday, having passed the halfway point in his attempt to make the first solo, non-stop flight around the world without refuelling and almost no sleep.
”Unless he’s talking in his sleep, he’s pretty cogent,” joked project manager Paul Moore, who added that the record-breaking millionaire got through numerous similar challenges due to ”his level-headedness, stamina and self-reliance”.
At 7.05am GMT, Fossett had reached the halfway point in his solo voyage, while flying at 46 801 feet (14 265m) after being aloft more than 30 hours. Four hours later, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer was over southern China at speeds of about 300 knots (555kph).
Should everything continue to go as planned, Fossett is expected to return to Salina on Thursday morning after spending between 60 and 80 hours in the air and burning nearly 8 636kg of fuel in the 1 522kg single-engine aircraft.
While Fossett is relying on an autopilot throughout the journey, he cannot safely ignore the complex demands of the experimental aircraft for much more than 10 or 20 minutes at a time, organisers said. As a result, he can only take power naps for the rest of the three-day journey.
On Tuesday, in a series of radio hook-ups with reporters at mission control in Kansas, Fossett said he has a ”good chance” of completing the record-breaking flight.
”I have picked up a 100 mile per hour [160kph] jet stream just behind me and I am covering territory fast, which is very encouraging,” he said. ”It’s interesting to watch things go by and I am looking forward to another good day tomorrow.”
The most serious problem was a temporary failure of the global positioning system, Fossett’s satellite navigation aid.
”This was my sole source of navigation, so this was very serious,” he said, adding that the system had not functioned for about half of his flight over Canada.
”I believe it was an antenna problem,” he said.
He cautioned that other problems could arise and that there is still a long way to go.
”There may be new things that come up, so there’s no real basis for confidence,” he said, ”but I’m happy with the situation.”
Moore said cabin pressure remained good even after Fossett climbed to 49 500 feet (15 090m) and the temperature in the cramped cockpit was 18 degrees Celsius.
”His feet are a bit chilly,” said Moore.
Fossett nonetheless reported being ”comfortable enough” in the 2,3m-long cockpit.
”I have got elbow room, I can get to everything, I’m not complaining,” he said. ”It is a long trip — especially the nights. I feel a little bit tired, but I have been through this before and I am going to be okay.”
The three-day journey will test the endurance and piloting abilities of Fossett, a 60-year-old millionaire who has set dozens of world records with jet airplanes and gliders, hot-air balloons and sailing.
British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson — who has set a number of aviation and sailing records of his own — is funding the project through his company Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Interest in the record-setting attempt has drawn journalists from all over the world to Salina, and the mission’s website, Virginatlanticglobalflyer.com, has drawn more than eight million hits in the past 24 hours.
The GlobalFlyer was designed by aviation legend Burt Rutan, who recently made headlines when his SpaceShipOne won the $10-million X Prize for sending a privately designed craft into space twice in two weeks.
Rutan also designed the Voyager, which was used by his brother Dick Rutan and Jeanne Yeager in 1986 to set a nine-day record for a non-stop, non-refuelled flight around the world.
Fossett hopes to beat that record by making it in less than 80 hours, and by doing it on his own.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday praised Fossett and his backers for keeping alive the pioneering spirit of the Wright brothers, Alberto Santos-Dumont and Howard Hughes.
”We cannot say whether Mr Fossett’s journey offers any immediate practical benefits. But it has captured our imagination, and where imagination goes, invention often follows,” the economic daily said. — Sapa-AFP