And So Does Steve

Steve Fossett has joined with Mark Rebholz to launch the Vickers Vimy Project again, this time aiming to recreate the 1919 Transatlantic flight from St John's, Newfoundland in Canada to Clifden, Co, Galway, Ireland achieved by British flyers John W. Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown.

Fossett and Robholz launched on Thursday from Gnoss Field in Novato, California, and made it to Lake Havasu, AZ before calling it a day. They were scheduled to head towards Kansas on Saturday, enroute to Newfoundland to prepare for their transatlantic flight between the second and third week of June.

The twin-engine replica bomber is the world's largest flying biplane, with at 70 foot wingspan, and four-bladed, ten foot diameter propellers. The wood, metal and fabric plane is over 15 feet tall, and will weigh over 6 tons when fully loaded for the long distance attempt.

It is powered by 8.4 litre Canadian-built Orenda V8's, developed from a General Motors truck engine design. The plane cruises at about 75 miles per hour. The Vimy replica, built in 1991-1994, has already made multi-stop flights from the UK to Australia and UK to South Africa in the past.

The re-creation of the 1,960 mile journey across the North Atlantic will take more than 16 hours. It's no Global Flyer either, as the Co-Pilot and Navigator Rebholz will use only a sextant and compass as did Alcock and Brown in 1919.

Fossett and Rebholz have been flying the Vimy relica since last autumn in northern California. According to Fossett, the plane is a bear to fly and requires the full attention of both pilots, particularly on take-off and landing. They plan to arrive in St. John's in time to standby for the mid-June attempt. June 14th is the anniversary of Alcock and Brown's historic flight.

FMI: www.vimy.org