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Mission Status: 15:07UTC at Mission Control. Elapsed Journey time: 14 hours 20 minutes. Distance covered approximately 4,400 nautical miles.

Steve is now flying at 44,866ft, and still climbing as he has permission to go to 47,000 ft. Now in Moroccan airspace he expects to intercept with the chase plane very shortly. In his last call with the press he said, 'At this time everything is going very well, I'm very happy with the stiuation and I think we've got a good chance.'

Steve is currently traveling at 340 knots/ 390 mph (ground speed).

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/

As the sun set over Salina (Kansas), 8000 people watched from the side of the runway as Steve Fossett and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer successfully took off into the air.

After more than a month of unavoidable delays, excitement was at its peak as crowds assembled in the biting cold, gathered around portable radios and sitting with friends and family. 27 privately piloted aircrafts flew in especially for the event, and traffic built up all around the area.

Some spectators had arrived especially early to make sure they gained a good view of the aircraft. Rick and Robin Chester, parents of selected aviation K-State student Monica Chester, arrived at the runway at 14:30, waiting more than four hours for the event. "We were really happy that we waited," they said. "We were freezing but it was well worth the wait."

Saying that an earlier take off would have been more preferable, Richard said that because of the strong jet-streams Steve was quite happy to wait. The head winds also needed to get down to 10mph and they did not do so until ten minutes before take-off, making it "perfect conditions" for flying.

Leaving at 18:47 CST, it was a smooth take-off except for a moment when the aircraft dipped dramatically towards the runway. "When it dipped we were a little bit nervous," Sir Richard Branson said afterwards, although Jon Karkow said it was not an unusual procedure during a climb.

After take-off Kevin Stass, Mission Control director, said: "Everyone at Mission Control is really pleased that the Virgin Atlantic Globalflyer had successful accomplished take-off."

Richard said it was "an enormous relief to see it lifting off because it had never flown before with such a load of fuel on board."

Saying that the aircraft's take-off was a "beautiful sight", Richard said that having left Salina, its "next stop Salina. Something I never thought I'd be able to say with a plane!"



Airborne 00:47:10UTC
Longitude Latitude
E5.19129 N31.38990
Altitude Speed
47,466ft 314.00 knots

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.co ... launch.jsp

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.co ... /Tracking/


THE RAMPTOR ENGINEERING TEAM <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
"Who cares if it works? Does it look good on the ramp?"

_________________
????

Definitely the Lindbergh/ Wiley Post of our times! Good luck to him.

So, you have trouble. We all have trouble. Build a bridge and get over it.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

Currently Over japan and their is Discussion that He has Either A Faulty Fuel Gauge or that He did not take on enough Fuel. Hawaii is going to be the Deciding factor.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> Back-up sensors to the fuel gauge indicate the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer has 2,600 pounds less fuel than expected. Mission managers said they do not think the aircraft is losing fuel and the problem may go all the way back to when the aircraft was fueled.

One theory is that despite the full reading on the fuel gauge after the tanks were filled, they may have been 2,600 pounds short of fuel.

However, managers indicated they simply do not know how they got in this situation.

As of 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, Fossett was over China with 5,500 pounds of fuel remaining. Conditions had been favorable, with a strong tailwinds moving the aircraft quicker than expected.

Virgin spokeswoman Lori Levin said the team will have to make a decision between 1 and 2 p.m. ET on how the flight should proceed.

Levin said two critical decisions are coming up for the team. The first will be when Fossett reaches the Pacific Ocean. If there is enough fuel to make it to Hawaii, he will continue. Once over Hawaii, the fuel will be assessed again to determine if there is enough to make it to the west coast of North America.

The Virgin Atlantic team will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. ET.

The flight support team expects continued favorable winds. If those winds hold, Levin said the team thinks Fossett could make make it back to home base Salina, Kansas, where he took off just before 8 p.m. EDT Monday.

"The first solo nonstop is a grand endeavor," Fossett has said. "If successful, I hope to earn a place in aviation history in the legacy of Wiley Post." In 1933, Post rounded the globe after stopping 11 times in just under eight days.

The first nonstop global flight without refueling was made in 1986 by Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, brother of GlobalFlyer designer Burt Rutan.

Fossett has proved himself to be a modern-day Magellan, who circumnavigated the globe in 1519-21. In 2002, he became the first solo balloonist to circle the globe nonstop, despite an on-board fire and dangerous winds. Two years later, he and his crew made the fastest circumnavigation on a sailing ship -- 58 days.

The GlobalFlyer consists of three hulls attached to a 35-meter (114-foot) wing that measures more than half the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Twin "boom" hulls on either side of the cockpit hull each carry almost 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of fuel. The plane is expected to reach heights of 17,000 meters (52,000 feet) and travel at speeds in excess of 250 knots (440 kph, 285 mph).

Atop the plane's 7-foot cockpit is a single jet engine, which must propel the aircraft throughout its 40,234 km (25,000-mile) trek.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

"RickUSN-

That was intelligent and useful Mudd.

But it certainly is what Ive come to expect.

Mindless babbling with no intent to either enlighten or inform.

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.co ... /Tracking/

"RickUSN-

That was intelligent and useful Mudd.

But it certainly is what Ive come to expect.

Mindless babbling with no intent to either enlighten or inform.

He Is currently North Of Hawaii and only 4800Miles from Kansas now with 79% of the voyage completed!

Very Exciting <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>

"RickUSN-

That was intelligent and useful Mudd.

But it certainly is what Ive come to expect.

Mindless babbling with no intent to either enlighten or inform.

It's 1986 all over again.

...With the exception that it is now flown with one person instead of two( Rutan and Yeager)






Edited by - tritonal on Mar 02 2005 7:16 PM

and that now it's a single engine jet rather than a twin engine propeller plane.

"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us". George Orwell

Fighting For Justice With Brains Of Steel !
<img src="http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/atengun2X.GIF" border=0>

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

He's down and safe! Woohoo!
<img src=newicons/smiley_salute.gif border=0 align=middle>

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity."

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

<i>and that now it's a single engine jet rather than a twin engine propeller plane.</i>

I originally was gonna say that, but I think I remember the '86 crew winding up finishing most of the tour on one engine.

CNN) -- Flying from horizon to horizon, Steve Fossett completed the first nonstop, flight 'round-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 sometimes tense 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, known as drogue chutes, to slow the craft down.

After touching down smoothly, Fossett taxied the plane toward a hangar and Branson waved a black-and-white checkered flag as the jet came to a stop. Fossett's flight team opened a bottle of champagne onto the runway.

GlobalFlyer was built by Scaled Composites, the same firm that designed and launched the world's first civilian manned spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, last year. That craft is being installed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum in Washington D.C., where GlobalFlyer could end up as well.

Burt Rutan, aerospace engineer and head of Scaled Composites, said the plane, and the pilot, performed admirably.

"If you want to rate that landing, it's at least an eight-and-a-half," Rutan told CNN. " I think (Fossett) did a phenomenal job of landing that airplane...Steve is a different animal than most of us."

Despite the successful homecoming, the GlobalFlyer encountered dark moments during its flight.

At one point, controllers thought the plane would run out of fuel far short of its target. Fossett and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer team considered abandoning the trip when they were over Hawaii on Wednesday because the experimental plane came up about 2,600 pounds of fuel short after taking off. The jet burns 102 pounds of fuel per hour. The team speculated that fuel was vented from four tanks shortly after takeoff.

Fossett decided to press on because of favorable tail winds.

"If I have engine trouble, there will be no trouble with gliding," Fossett had said earlier in the day before landing.

When more data arrived from the aircraft, projections showed the fuel would propel the aircraft throughout its entire 25,000-mile trip.

"The range was going to be very close, said Jon Karkow of Scaled Composites. "We had a moment of panic." Fossett was expected to land with reserves in the plane's fuel tanks, flight officials said.

Fossett first passed over the United States today about 9 a.m., more than 60 hours after leaving the ground. The red-and-white plane, its long fuselage emblazoned with the Virgin Atlantic motif, cruised at speeds of more than 200 mph for most of the flight at an altitude of about 45,000 feet (13, 716 meters). It carried more than 18,000 pounds of fuel when it left the ground.

Fossett has proved himself to be a modern-day Magellan, the mariner whose expedition circumnavigated the globe in from 1519 to 1521. In 2002, Fossett was the first solo balloonist to circle the globe nonstop, despite an on-board fire and dangerous winds. Two years later, he and his crew made the fastest circumnavigation on a sailing ship: 58 days.

The GlobalFlyer consists of three hulls attached to a 35-meter (114-foot) wing that measures more than half the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Twin "boom" hulls on either side of the cockpit hull each carry almost 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of fuel.

Atop the plane's 7-foot cockpit is a single jet engine.

Last year, Rutan led the first manned commercial flight to reach the edge of space. His SpaceShipOne won his team the $10 million X Prize, an award from a nonprofit foundation aimed at spurring civilian space flight.

"RickUSN-

That was intelligent and useful Mudd.

But it certainly is what Ive come to expect.

Mindless babbling with no intent to either enlighten or inform.

I just love this stuff.

THE RAMPTOR ENGINEERING TEAM <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
"Who cares if it works? Does it look good on the ramp?"

_________________
????