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Author
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Topic: Steve Fossett's GlobalFlyer flight: 10 years
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Steve Smith
Member Posts: 503
From: Wichita, Kansas, USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 03-03-2015 01:37 PM
   
Ten years ago to the minute (1:37 p.m. CST, March 3, 2005), I was privileged to be on the landing strip when Steve Fossett became the first (and only) pilot to circumnavigate the world non-stop, solo, with no refueling. He was in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which is now at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.Read more about this here, as appears in the March 2015 issue of Smithsonian magazine. As a huge coincidence, I just sat down to lunch and was reading this when I saw the article and that the exact anniversary was near. Would not otherwise have known. A thrill of my life to have seen this. I got to talk to Steve as he was coming out of the plane (after 67 hour flight) and asked him about what had been reported as a possible fuel shortage. He said he was not in trouble. He liked my Iditarod Dog Race cap I was wearing as he had raced in it. Later he and Sir Richard Branson autographed my 1960 Post Slide Rule, and posed for pictures with me. What a day. Such a shame we lost Steve in September 2007. As Sir Richard Branson said, "He was an adventurer's adventurer." A fabulous feat! |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-04-2015 04:04 AM
Thanks for that Steve. And thanks to cS (and Virgin Atlantic) I met him after he set the absolute world record for "distance without landing" on February 11, 2006. He was supposed to land at Manston, Kent, UK, but landed 100 miles away at Bournemouth. While we waited at Manston Richard Branson flew off in his jet to collect him. Despite 76 hours in the air he had time to chat and grab a photo.A man of many talents and great modesty. Tragic that he lost his life so early and arguably in preventable circumstances. | |
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