3.01.2005

Around the world in 80 hours

Pilot Steve Fossett departed an airfield in Salina, Kansas yesterday evening in his attempt to become the first person to fly solo non-stop around the world without re-fueling. Information about the mission, the aircraft, and the records that may be set can be found on the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer home page. Continuously updated flight tracking is available on this page. Site response is a little slow right now, for obvious reasons.

Having just seen the movie The Aviator, I find it interesting to consider Fossett's mission in the context of what people like Howard Hughes and his contemporaries were attempting not really all that long ago. There probably aren't many aviation frontiers left to be conquered, but this is one of them.

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