airplane pix ?
I'm amazed! (by how much I don't care)
It's pretty windy in the greater Salina area just now.
Unless it dies, don't be surprised if launch doesn't
happen today.
Also, I don't think this craft has taken off with a
full fuel load before. As with Voyager (which scraped
off a winglet on takeoff), the departure could be, um,
interesting.
To be a true non-stop flight, he'd have to never land again.
Wow. I hope he's got some good strategies for dealing with the extreme sleep deprivation he's gonna get. Reading about Dick Rutan's airborne hallucinations and Charles Lindbergh's similar problems, it's (IMO) the major danger he faces.
I got to meet Jeana Yeager a few times, and some of the mid-flight gremlins they faced were astounding.
I hope he makes it
WOW,
Jerry and Jackson and I had quite a day driving out to Salina to see the
lift off of the Global Flyer.
We arrived at the Salina Airfield around 3:30 and because of the wind we
spent most of the next 3 1/2 hours in the van listening to local radio
broadcasts about the event.
Also we were glad to stay out of the bitter cold north wind. It was amazing
to see how many people ere not properly dressed for the conditions. The
wind chill was about 25F.
That wind was gusting above 20 and threatened to prevent the Global Flyer
from taking off as it might cause the overloaded airplane to stumble.
Finally the time came and we piled out of our vehicles and raced to the edge
of the viewing area and peered into the gloom since it was now 1/2 hr after
sunset. The chase airplane - a carbon fiber Beechcraft Starship lifted off
first and then came the Flyer. It raced as a low and sleek siloutte against
the twilight and swoshed almost silently past us, wingtips angled up to the
sky as if trying to pull the heavy plastic airplane into the dark sky. The
crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 let out a cheer and raced back to start their
vehicles and thread out of the airfield in a monsterous traffic jam.
We ate a late dinner at the Abiline Sonic and got home just before 11PM.
So I spent about 10 hours and drove 400 miles to see a little airpane fly
the first 30 seconds of a 3 day circumnavigation. Was it worth it? Those
30 seconds were thrilling indeed and probably the next time I see that
airpane it will be in the Smithsonian Institution Air Museum.
Mission Status: 12:31UTC at Mission Control. Elapsed Journey time: 11 hours
45 minutes. Distance covered approximately 3,564 nautical miles.
Steve is now at 44,100ft, flying over the Atlantic Ocean and should approach
the African coastline in an hour and a half. He is now in daylight. In his
last communication with Mission Control he reports everything is working
okay although he has experienced some light turbulence.
Steve is currently traveling at 350 knots/ 402.5 mph (ground speed).
He is in Santa Maria airspace and then head towards North Africa
(Casablanca) via Porto Santo (Madiera). Which will be Portuguese domestic
airspace.
http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/
Fred
The first so-called around-world solo nonstop attempt, that I know of, was by Jim Bede in 1967. He had modified a Schweizer 2-32 sailplane with a piston engine and wet wings and claimed it was capable of nonstop around the world. The numbers clearly showed this wasn't possible unless it was done on the Arctic Circle or with a marvelous tailwind.
The takeoff at Cleveland was almost comic. The ship ran on a big tricycle dolly. Bede rotated way too soon and the wings began to flap like a big buzzard struggling to take off. At the last possible second it broke ground, the dolly cut loose and apparently did some damage to the airplane. Bede flew as far as Long Island, got a good look at the cold water, and called it a day.
Later he did set some closed course records out in California.
This new aircraft of Rutan's is as much advanced over Bede's as Bede was over Lindbergh, IMOH. Still, it is a terrific challenge for any pilot as much as it was back in their day.