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Global Flyer Part 2

Posted by samzenpus on from the never-coming-down dept.

nsasch writes "The Global Flyer just wasn't enough for Steve Fossett. He's going again, this time to make the world's longest (in length) flight, ever. He is currently over the Atlantic ocean and can be tracked online. He will be flying for 3 days with 18000 pounds of fuel (~8164 kilograms). More information, tracking, Microsoft Flight Simulator models, and background images are available from Virgin Atlantic."

3 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How do they define "longest flight"? by jcr · · Score: 4, Informative

    How do they differentiate between "flight", and "orbit"?

    "Flight" is when you travel through the atmosphere, relying on aerodynamic lift or bouyancy to keep you off the ground. "orbit" is when you're on a ballistic trajectory that doesn't intersect the earth.

    HTH,

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  2. Re:The longest... by Tyler+Eaves · · Score: 2, Informative

    Time record is way longer, over a month. Done by a couple of crazy guys out in the desert in a Cessna. They refuled by passing up cans of gas from a car speeding along the runway.

    --
    TODO: Something witty here...
  3. Compared to U.S. military in Iraq... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    According to an article from last month

    the U.S. military is now using about 3 million gallons of fuel per day in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

    I'll leave it up to you to decide whether this is an efficient use of resources or not.