Steve Fossett & GlobalFlyer
Posted on 01/30/2005 12:22:56 PM PST by BenLurkin
SALINA, Kan. - Long accustomed to its position at the center of the state and nation, this city is preparing to be the center of attention for the entire world. The Kansas crossroads city is the launch and landing point for adventurer Steve Fossett's record-setting attempt for the first solo nonrefueled trans-global flight next month.
Fossett will pilot the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, designed by Burt Rutan and built by his Scaled Composites in Mojave, where it was unveiled a year ago.
The project is backed by Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson, who also serves as back-up pilot.
Salina Municipal Airport was selected to host the attempt in large part because of its central location, which means that Fossett will be over land for the risky final leg of the flight, providing emergency landing areas if needed.
The airport also has the lengthy runway required for the fuel-laden aircraft's takeoff run, and is capable of providing the necessary support for the mission.
Like Mojave before it for another Rutan endeavor - the historic SpaceShipOne manned space flights - Salina is preparing for an influx of thousands of visitors and international media. Already, it has been featured in publications from across North America, Europe, Asia and even India.
"We're pretty confident. We've been planning for several months," said Gerald Cook , president and CEO of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce. "We're ready to roll."
With a population of nearly 50,000 people, Salina is the state's seventh-largest city.
Located at the junction of Interstates 70 and 135, it is a regional trade center at the heart of one of the largest wheat-growing areas of the country. Its own economy, however, is based on manufacturing and a growing aviation industry.
The Dec. 1 announcement of Salina as the homeport for the historic attempt sparked a fire of excitement and enthusiasm that has only grown with the aircraft's arrival at Hangar 703 on Jan. 6.
Tim Rogers , Salina Airport Authority executive director, characterized the mood in town as "high anticipation and extreme enthusiasm."
"All the enthusiasm and interest just reaffirms this is a significant milestone," he said. "I feel like I'm the luckiest airport manager in the world right now."
Organizers are prepared to host as many as 30,000 to 32,000 visitors for launch and landing, but anticipate the crowds to number a few thousand, Cook said.
"We don't really know how many people to expect," he said, although visitors for the arrival will likely outnumber those for the launch, possibly doubling the attendance.
Judging by the requests for press credentials, the media contingent will number between 200 and 250 people, he said.
The frigid cold of a Kansas winter will likely keep some viewers away, although the die-hards bundled up and braved temperatures in the teens to greet the aircraft when it arrived from Mojave.
To accommodate those who want to be close to the action, but not out in the cold, the festivities will be carried on the local cable television and radio stations.
The launch date is contingent on weather conditions at Salina and aloft along the flight route. It is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 6.
Local organizers and the Virgin Atlantic team have planned a full schedule of activities surrounding the flight. Keeping it all running smoothly is an army of some 300 volunteers, including the staffs of the Chamber of Commerce, airport and university, and local organizations such as the Experimental Aircraft Association and Civil Air Patrol.
"They're going to be doing everything from parking cars to running the information center, to guiding tours to just being gracious hosts," Cook said.
Among the volunteers are several students of Kansas State University at Salina , site of the GlobalFlyer Mission Control.
Seth Short , a senior in the professional pilot program, was one student hand-picked to work in Mission Control, where he is preparing the flight plan.
"Right now we're just planning the route for Steve, trying to match up with the jet stream as much as possible," Short said. The aid of the winds of the jet stream is crucial to successfully powering GlobalFlyer around the world on a single tank of fuel.
A pilot himself, Short has produced flight plans for his own purposes, but never anything on this scale.
"It's been awesome. I never even fathomed I'd be working on something like this at this point in my career," the 21-year-old from Burrton , Kan. said.
"Steve Fossett, Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan are three of the biggest names in aviation. To work on the same project as those three men - I'm just speechless."
During the flight, Short will share time in the control room with others, monitoring the flight conditions and making adjustments to the flight path. Once airborne, GlobalFlyer must stick to the prescribed route, but changes in altitude are allowed.
Following his graduation in May, Short will head to Pensacola, Fla. to start pilot training for the U.S. Navy.
"It's a nice way to finish off my college career, setting a world record with Steve Fossett," he said. "I'm definitely living a dream now."
The heart of the world-record endeavor is the Salina Municipal Airport and the adjacent Kansas State University at Salina.
Formerly Schilling Air Force Base, the airport has blossomed in the last 40 years into a major aviation and industrial center.
A legacy from its days as home to B-47 bombers, the airport sports an exceptionally long, 12,300-foot runway. It also houses an industrial center with 70 businesses employing 4,600 people.
Its central location has earned it the nickname "America's Fuel Stop," selling more than four million gallons of fuel to civil and military aircraft each year, Rogers said.
The busy airport sees some 7,000 business jets visiting each year, as well as charter flights, general aviation use and regular commercial passenger service to Kansas City on USAirways Express.
With that much traffic, it is not unusual to see unique aircraft at the airport, but none have had the celebrity of GlobalFlyer.
"By far Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is probably the most exciting and most challenging mission for the airport to date," Rogers said.
While technically fairly straight forward, the project is complicated by the tremendous media and public interest and making accommodations for such while continuing to operate an active airport, he said.
GlobalFlyer's takeoff and landing about three days later will only briefly interrupt the airport's regular operations to allow the unusual aircraft plenty of breathing room as it becomes airborne and lands.
"It's just a beautiful airplane to watch fly, it's graceful. You can tell it loves to fly," Rogers said. "It's a tribute to Burt Rutan and all the employees at Scaled Composites, the care and effort they put into it. They should be very proud."
The technical responsibilities of the flight reside with the Scaled Composites and Virgin Atlantic teams, while the airport focuses on security and safety, Rogers said.
Closely linked to the airport's efforts is that of Mission Control at K-State Salina, located adjacent to the airport and linked by taxiways.
The university is home to about 1,000 students in one of the nation's top aviation programs, offering associate and bachelor degrees in professional pilot and aircraft maintenance programs.
Students gain hands-on experience from the school's fleet of 40 aircraft, including everything from small general aviation airplanes to business jets.
A dozen students of all grade levels were specially selected to assist the Virgin Atlantic and Scaled Composites teams in the flight attempt, in Mission Control and as part of the ground crew.
"It has just been the experience of a lifetime," said Dennis Kuhlman, dean of the College of Technology and Aviation. "They're learning from some of the world's best."
For example, student members of the ground crew are getting hands-on demonstrations from the Scaled Composites team in carbon-fiber fabrication, an aircraft construction technique that is more art than science, Kuhlman said, and these students are learning from a "master artist."
In addition to those working directly with the GlobalFlyer team, about 30 to 50 student volunteers will be available at any time during the mission to help wherever needed, from escorting guests to providing computer and other technological assistance.
"I don't think there's any question our students will benefit from this," Kuhlman said.
The educational benefits of the record-setting project are shared not only by the university students, but by junior high and high school students across the state.
The overwhelming interest from state schools led organizers to invite two students from each district, along with a sponsor. Over two days, the airport hosted about 300 students from across the state, giving each an introduction to the record attempt's concept, team and aircraft.
Even before takeoff, the GlobalFlyer's flight is registering an impact on the community.
"This event gets our name mentioned in newspaper articles, television and radio all over the world," Cook said. "The exposure we've received is probably worth millions. Frankly, that's our payoff."
The airport can measure its payoff in the increased traffic on its web site.
Before the GlobalFlyer announcement, the site recorded a peak of 500 visits a day. After Dec. 1, the peak hit 10,000 visits a day. Since the aircraft arrived from Mojave, that traffic has doubled, Rogers said.
"That is truly from all around the world and a wide variety of individuals," he said. "It has captured the imagination of literally tens of thousands of people around the world."
Greater exposure, even outside the United States, is seen as a boost for the university as well, Kuhlman said.
"Here, being hand-delivered to me, are 100 to 150 European reporters," he said. "These people are going to be here, they're going to see it.
"You can't buy that kind of publicity."
Rutan has already flew around the world without refueling...
Record books: If Fossett is 1st, he'll still be 2nd"
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Steve Fossett & GlobalFlyer
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