Citation X and Piaggio Avanti Will Hold New Records

There's nothing like a great tailwind, and the most driven man in the universe, Steve Fossett, is one to see an opportunity, and take it.

On Wednesday, he recognized a good thing, hopped into his Citation X with regular co-pilot Doug Travis, and blasted from San Diego (CA) to Charleston (SC) in 2:56:20, averaging 726.83 mph. The old record, 33 mph slower, was already Fossett's, set three years ago. Only military flying machines have made the west-to-east coast-to-coast run faster. [The non-military east-to-west record, we were told, is still held by a Boeing 707 --ed.] Just for fun, he then called his friend, Joe Ritchie, who owns a Piaggio Avanti, based in -- you guessed it -- San Diego.

Without waiting to avail themselves of Charleston's famous southern hospitality, Steve and Doug streaked back to San Diego, where Steve joined his old friend Joe Ritchie (USA) in the cockpit of Ritchie's Piaggio Avanti twin turboprop.

With Ritchie as pilot and Fossett as co-pilot, the pair flew the same course, reaching Charleston before midnight -- in just 3:51:52 -- an average speed of 546.44 miles per hour (879.46 kph) -- and a huge improvement over the previous record set in 1986 by General Chuck Yeager and Renald Davenport on a course from Los Angeles to New York at 454.79 mph (731.92 kph).

Steve Fossett: "What a day! We managed to make the first non-military aircraft flight across the continent in under 3 hours and the first turboprop crossing in under 4 hours. Plus we got to break Chuck Yeager's turbo record by over 100 mph. I'm going to sleep well tonight."

In addition to the new coast-to-coast marks, Wednesday's flights set new segment records from Dallas to Atlanta -- 733 mph in the Citation X, and 577 mph in the Piaggio. [All records, of course, are pending ratification by the National Aeronautics Association --ed.] Fossett is sponsored by Michelob ULTRA (the new low-carbohydrate premium beer from Anheuser-Busch).

FMI: www.fossettchallenge.com