Cape Canaveral, Fla. – After a white-knuckle takeoff, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett soared out over the Atlantic in an experimental airplane Wednesday on a quest to break the 25,000-mile record for the world’s longest aircraft flight.
Fossett squeezed into the tiny cockpit, kissed his wife goodbye and set out on the planned 3 1/2- day nonstop journey, taking off from Kennedy Space Center on a nearly 3-mile runway.
His plane is made of lightweight carbon fiber and has a super fuel-efficient turbofan jet engine with a high thrust-to-weight ratio.
The takeoff was free of technical problems like the major fuel leaks that plagued his nonstop solo flight around the globe last year and prevented him from taking off Tuesday. Still, there were hair-raising moments. Two seabirds hit his plane during takeoff but caused no damage, and the craft lifted off 1,500 feet farther down the runway than expected.
Fossett’s goal is a nearly 27,000- mile trip, once around the world and across the Atlantic again, landing near London. He’ll take five-minute naps and drink nutrition shakes.
