Fri, Jan 28, 2005
Now Scheduled To Depart On February 6th
Steve Fossett's 'round-the-world record attempt aboard the
Global Flyer won't get off the ground as soon as he'd hoped.
Instead, Fossett, with backing from aviation entrepreneur and
adventurer Richard Branson, will begin his 70+ hour attempt on
February 6th.
Blame a change in the jetstream, according to the organization's
web site. It's just the kind of delay that Branson's airline,
Virgin Atlantic, warned about more than a month ago, according to
the Salina Journal. The Global Flyer, built by Burt Rutan's Scaled
Composites, needs a tailwind -- a kick in the butt from the
jetstream. It generally blows from west to east up to 15 miles
above the Earth.
The Global Flyer web site said the jetstream had shifted too far
north. Flying in a jetstream that far north, according to the web
site, wouldn't give Fossett the distance he needs to set a new
'round-the-world record.
"As anticipated, the correct weather conditions have to be in
place for a successful world-record attempt," Tim Rogers, executive
director of the Salina Airport Authority, said Wednesday afternoon,
quoted in the Journal.
Global Flyer workers are making good use of the extra time,
dialing in components at Mission Control, which is located at
nearby Kansas State University. Things there, according to the
university's PR coordinator, Kristin Magette, are just about
ready.
"They’re doing the testing and making sure everything
works the way that it’s supposed to," she told the
Journal.
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