The aircraft barreling down the Kennedy Space Center runway Thursday did not come from space, but it was as unique as any NASA space shuttle.
With a wingspan as wide as an 11-story building, and a body weight so light it cannot land without drag chutes to slow it, the experimental Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer arrived at the space base in Florida to prepare for another record-breaking flight.
“It would be a thrill to go to space, but I’m an airplane pilot,” millionaire pilot Steve Fossett said after climbing out of the GlobalFlyer’s tiny cockpit. “I’m going to try to do some of the most exciting things I can do — in airplanes.”
Fossett last year set a record aboard the GlobalFlyer for the first nonstop solo flight around the world. The plane, powered by a single jet engine, took off from Salina, Kan., on Feb. 28, 2005, and returned 67 hours later, the new record in hand.
But the flight was not without problems. The plane leaked 3,100 pounds (1,400 kilograms) of fuel during takeoff, and Fossett was not sure he would be able to complete a circumnavigation of the globe.
“We’re still struggling with this problem,” Fossett acknowledged during a news conference at the space center runway.
Fossett’s next goal is to break the record for the longest flight by an aircraft, a milestone currently held by Dick Rutan, the brother of GlobalFlyer designer Burt Rutan, and co-pilot Jeana Yeagar. They flew another Burt Rutan aircraft called Voyager on a nine-day, nonstop, around-the-world tour in December 1986.
If the weather in Florida and conditions of the high-altitude jetstream are acceptable, Fossett could be ready to take off from Cape Canaveral as early as next week.
Fossett plans to top Voyager’s 26,366-mile (42,186-kilometer) flight by crossing the Atlantic Ocean a second time and landing outside of London. The flight is expected to take at least 80 hours.
“There is this challenge left to do,” said Fossett. “Fly the airplane to its capability ... which we believe is farther than any airplane has flown nonstop.”
GlobalFlyer must begin its journey before the end of February while the weather is still cool in Florida. The plane’s takeoff weight is 83 percent fuel, and cooler temperatures make for denser air and an easier liftoff from the ground.
