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| Is this really a big deal...Or am I a wet blanket? |
| 2005-03-04 |
| Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has landed at a Kansas airstrip, successfully completing his non-stop, around-the-world solo flight. Fossett landed his single-engine Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer jet in Salina, Kansas at before 3 p.m. ET, after approximately 67 hours in the air. About 15 minutes later, Fossett emerged from the plane's cramped cockpit, to the cheers of a crowd assembled on the tarmac. "Well, that was something I've wanted to do for a long time -- a major ambition -- and I've had the good fortune to get the right people associated with it," he said after embracing project sponsor, Virgin Atlantic founder and fellow adventurer Sir Richard Branson. The success of Fossett's 37,000-kilometre journey was put in doubt less than 24 hours earlier, when the discovery of a fuel-system problem raised the prospect of a premature landing in Hawaii. Fuel sensors on the plane differed from readings that indicated how quickly fuel was burning, Project Manager Paul Moore said, forcing the crew to assume that close to 1,200 kilograms of the plane's original 8,200 kilograms of fuel had somehow "disappeared" early in the flight. To increase his chances of reaching the final destination, Fossett flew the final leg of his journey as conservatively as possible. "The aircraft is flying very slowly right now through the air," Fossett ground crew member Jon Karkow told reporters before the landing on Thursday. "We want it to arrive with the most conservative amount of fuel possible, there is no point in rushing things," he said. It's still not clear whether the problem was with the actual fuel reserve or the sensors that track it, but mission control determined that, thanks to a strong tail wind, there was enough fuel to last the flight... |
| Posted by:Cb |
| #15 Too self indulgent for me to care. But no celebrity news for me either. To each his own. |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2005-03-04 3:13:30 PM |
| #14 ed--I don't understand. $100 million spent is $100 million spent. It wasn't like he set the money on fire--it went for supplies and materials and paid people's salaries. It went back into the economy. That he had fun doing it is just icing on the cake! I don't see it as any different than a bunch of people spending $100 million collectively on houses, cars, clothing, etc. It went back into the system and will recirculate. |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-03-04 3:13:29 PM |
| #13 the Ego has landed. Have to remember that one. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-03-04 12:55:29 PM |
| #12 In that case, sign me up for the booze and hooker committee. Pushing engineering boundaries is a nonsequitor. Hot air ballons and round the world flights have already been done and his venture offers no practical value to society. There is no prize in being the second (or hundreth) in such ventures. If he really wanted to push boundaries, such as being first man to finance and build a practical orbital spacecraft, then I will support him. But don't expect me to be cheering today at the runway when the Ego Has Landed. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-03-04 12:47:10 PM |
| #11 Has he blown over/under $100 million on his various around the world ego trips? Maybe we should form a Committee and all vote on how he spends his money. Personally, *I* think it is cool, but I happen to like engineering and adventures. Besides, engineering problems tend to follow Sun Tzu's dictum that opportunies multiply as they are seized. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-03-04 12:33:04 PM |
| #10 Has he blown over/under $100 million on his various around the world ego trips? |
| Posted by: ed 2005-03-04 11:35:20 AM |
| #9 I'm not interested in it, but agree with CL and know some people who are into it. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-03-04 11:31:38 AM |
| #8 Classical_Liberal : DITTO! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-03-04 11:23:03 AM |
| #7 He took a tram through China. :) He's crazy, rich and Anglo... good deal. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-03-04 10:54:13 AM |
| #6 Fosset is a sexagenarian superman. This project was worthy, alone, just as an example to the rest of us. I hope I'm half as active at his age. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2005-03-04 4:53:28 AM |
| #5 The world is full of hard problems. It doesn't follow they are worth solving. Having said that I can see value in very long duration flights - UAVs that can stay in the air for days and fly anywhere in the world. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-03-04 3:49:51 AM |
| #4 It was a very hard engineering problem that was solved with private money. What's not to like about that? |
| Posted by: Classical_Liberal 2005-03-04 3:26:12 AM |
| #3 Ya think he dropped any excess baggage on Tora Bora? |
| Posted by: smartpoop 2005-03-04 2:10:16 AM |
| #2 I find Fosset blowing a few million a marginally less interesting subject than Charles and Camillas wedding. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-03-04 12:13:49 AM |
| #1 Yes. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-03-04 12:10:24 AM |