Aviation’s adventuresome duo of Steve Fossett and Richard Branson are at it again, announcing plans for another world record flight in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
Fossett became the first person to fly non-stop and without refuelling around the globe, starting from and ending in Salina, Kansas, in March.
He said on Thursday he now wants to set a distance record. The current plan is to fly from Kansas, circumnavigating the globe and landing near London, a trek of about 46 669km.
If successful, the flight would break the current aircraft record of 40 000km, set by the Voyager aircraft in 1996 and the balloon record of 40 580km set by the Breitling Orbiter 3 in 1999.
”This length of flight will be at the very limit of the airplane. It will be a stretch of my personal endurance, as well,” Fossett (60) said in a telephone interview from Wisconsin.
The flight is tentatively scheduled for February 2006, when winds are favourable.
The next attempt by Fossett would take about 90 hours. He piloted the GlobalFlyer for 67 hours when he took off and landed in Salina, his flight financed by Branson.
”He recognises a good adventure and he knows how to make good use of it,” Fossett said.
Fossett said he got about one hour of sleep during that flight through short naps, but he expects to be able to get more rest on the next flight. And, like the first flight, he will dine on 200-calorie diet milkshakes.
GlobalFlyer is a single-engine, composite jet aircraft designed by Burt Rutan, who designed the Voyager aircraft.
Rutan also designed the Virgin Atlantic SpaceShipOne, which won the X Prize for being the first civilian spacecraft flown above 100km. That project also is financed by Branson, chairperson of the Virgin Group, who plans to begin offering commercial space flight in the next few years. – Sapa-AP