Steve Fossett (born April 22, 1944, in Jackson, Tennessee) is a United States adventurer known for his appetite to set world records. He is a distinguished member of the Boy Scouts of America. Fossett, who made his fortune in American financial markets, is best known for his four world record circumnavigations of the Earth, as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo airplane pilot.
Although he was born in Tennessee, Fossett grew up in California. In 1966 he graduated from Stanford University with a BA. In 1968 he graduated with a MBA from The Olin School of Business at Washington University in St.Louis, MO and today is on the Board of Trustees. Fossett is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and The Explorers Club.
Overview
As a youth, Fossett earned the rank Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts of America by age 13, and later received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Today Fossett is a member of the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Now, pilot Steve Fossett is well known for his world record making adventures in balloons, sailboats, gliders and powered aircraft. He is an aviator of exceptional breadth of experience -- from his tenacious quest to become the first person to achieve a solo balloon flight around the world (finally succeeding on his 6th attempt in 2002) to setting, with co-pilot Terry Delore, nine of the 21 Glider Open records, including the first 2,000 km Out-and-Return and the first 1,500 km Triangle flights. His achievements as a jet pilot in a Cessna Citation X include records for U.S. Transcontinental, Australia Transcontinental, and Round-the-World Westbound non-supersonic flights.
In 2005, Fossett circumnavigated the world unrefueled non-stop in 67 hours in the single jet airplane, the Global Flyer.
In 2006, he again circumnavigated the world unrefueled non-stop in 76 hours, 45 minutes in the Global Flyer setting the record for the longest flight by any aircraft in history – 26,389 statute miles.
In 2002 Fossett received aviation's highest award, the Gold Medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).
Balloon pilot
On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
In 2002, he was credited with being the first person to fly around the world alone, nonstop, in a balloon. He launched from Northam, Western Australia, on June 19, 2002, and returned to Australia on July 3, 2002.
Sailor
Steve Fossett is also one of the world's most accomplished sailors. Speed sailing has been Fossett's specialty and, since 1993, he has dominated the record sheets, setting 21 official world records (14 standing) and 9 distance race records (8 standing).
On the maxi-catamaran "Cheyenne" Steve has twice set the prestigious 24 Hour Record of Sailing. In October 2001, Steve and his crew set a TransAtlantic record of 4 days 17 hours - not so much beating as obliterating the previous record by a whopping 43 hours 35 minutes - an increase in average speed of more than 7 knots.
(Note: Many of the records were set by Fossett on the maxi-cat "Cheyenne" when the boat was known as "PlayStation.")
In early 2004 he, as skipper, set the world record for fastest circumnavigation of the world (58 days and 9 hours) in his sailboat Cheyenne with a crew of 13.
Airship pilot
On October 27, 2004, Fossett set a new record for fastest flight with an Airship by flying a huge Zeppelin NT with a recorded average speed of 60.4 knots (111.8 km/h, 69.5 mph.) The previous record was 50.1 knots (92.8 km/h, 57.7 mph) set in 2001 in a Virgin Airship.
Airplane pilot
On February 28, 2005, Fossett took off from Salina, Kansas, in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, a jet-propelled airplane specially designed for this event, on the first solo, nonstop, non-refueled aerial circumnavigation of the globe by airplane. He flew eastward around the globe with the prevailing winds. On March 3, 2005, at about 01:50 PM CST, Fossett completed the record-breaking flight after 67 hours and 2 minutes and 38 seconds, with an average speed of nearly 300 mph.
On February 11, 2006, Fossett broke the world record for the longest nonstop flight, covering a distance of 26,389.3 miles (42469.5 km). The flight, in his single jet engine experimental plane Global Flyer lasted 76 hours, 45 minutes. He made an emergency landing at Bournemouth Airport, UK, after losing electrical power. His fuel tanks had 1100 pounds remaining from an initial load of 18,100 pounds (8,210 kg), although during Fossett's descent into Bournemouth the fuel gage read incorrectly at 200 pounds.[1][2][3]
Fossett flew from Salina, Kansas on March 14, 2006 and returned to land in Salina on March 17, 2006 after circumnavigating the globe in 74 hours and 26 minutes and covering an official distance of 40,655.4 km (25,262.1 miles). This final record flight of the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer was the Absolute Closed Circuit Distance Record. This record was previously held by Richard Rutan and Jeana Yeager in their 1986 flight in Voyager.
Fossett has now set three of the seven "Absolute" records of airplanes. Permanent display is planned for Global Flyer at the Hazy Center of the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.
Other activities
Fossett has swum the English Channel, driven the 24 hours of Le Mans and raced and completed the 1,049 mile Iditarod dog sled race, along with many other feats.
On July 2, 2005 Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz recreated the first direct crossing of the Atlantic by the British team of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in June 1919 in a Vickers Vimy bi-plane.
Among Fossett's current projects is the Perlan Project. This is an attempt to fly a glider to great altitude by exploiting stratospheric waves, with the aim of 62,000 feet. This glider, a modified DG505, is a fixed wing aircraft with no motor. Although altitude flight attempts have been made from New Zealand and Argentina, Fossett has not yet reached the current world record for gliders of 49,009 feet (14,938 m). Since the glider cockpit is unpressurized, the pilots use a supply of oxygen to maintain consciousness (typically above 14,000 feet MSL) and wear pressure suits (space suits) so that they can fly even higher than most commercial airlines fly. They have twice achieved altitudes of over 40,000 feet.
He has set 88 Aviation World Records ratified by Federation Aéronautique Internationale plus 21 sailing world records ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.
References
External links
