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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."

5 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. How do they define "longest flight"? by afaik_ianal · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The reference on that site to "Virgin Galactic" got me thinking. How do they differentiate between "flight", and "orbit"?

    Do they say that the record is only available to jet-powered flight? Or do you have to be under power the whole time? Why doesn't a space agency hold this record?

  2. At least someone . . by Leroy_Brown242 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    . . . is pushing the flight envelope these days.

    It really puts a smile on my face to hear about this sort of thing. The sooner we make ultra distance flights old hat, the sooner our solar system won't seem so big.

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    Pretty Pictures!
  3. This is imporant for Aviation by FoxyFox · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I believe this is important. To learn more about long flights is indeed useful. Also how long you can fly before the fuel weight works against you, how fast you can fly in order to get the longest distance etc. Boeing belives that in the future there will be a better market for direct planes, and less market for big planes between the big metropoles.(Airbus believes that this market is growing, so time will show who is right) Distance, speed and weight are therefore 3 very important variables for aviation, because in the future you can't make money only taking care of the number of passangers you can carry in a big jumbo. You need to fly longer and carry less passanger, that is, if Boeing is right.

  4. Re:What about efficient use of our resources? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Less than one, unless you throw your car out every 60,000 miles.

  5. Drugged up? by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Three days with no real sleep, only catnaps, then he has to land an airplane.

    Does he get to take amphetamines during this time? Or are US drug laws too strict to allow this (given that he started in Florida.)

    --
    Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.