Fossett near US
Posted By RichC on February 10, 2006
UPDATE: 1:45 EST
The Global Flyer is 51,000 feet directly above San Diego heading on a direct path toward Orlando Florida. (draw a line) If you are anywhere in this path be sure to check the sky. (although at 51,000 feet that is the highest Steve has flown so far) I suspect that the coverage will start to become a bit more mainstream as the flight nears completion; I’ll attempt to snatch some video when it becomes available. The webmaster has indicated 22 million hits to their site so far and is holding up just fine. The landing is scheduled to be at Kent International Airport – 18:30UTC on February 11th.
Interesting comments from Steve Fossett during his path over India:
Steve has admitted that during a period of “severe” turbulence he feared a wing might break and had put on his parachute in case he had to abandon the plane mid-air.
The tubulence occurred approximately 14:30UTC Thursday as he flew over Bhophal in India. Although Steve informed Mission Control about the turbulence and said he was “uncomfortable” he did not let the team know the full extent of the trouble.
It was only later in the evening that he revealed he had put his parachute on and that the turbulence had been a frightening experience.
Steve said: “I was afraid it was going to break up. It was a scary time and I had my parachute on and I was prepared to bail out in case a wing broke.”
The aircraft feels turbulence four times more than a commercial aircraft would. Due to the fragile nature of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer there is a possibility that severe conditions could damage the plane and break a wing. (see link)
Earlier Update:: Should reach the southern west coast of the US at 10 a.m. PST. Look up.
Since I’m following the flight and the GlobalFlyer I thought it would be really cool if someone was able to see the flight. Its probably a long shot for the naked eye viewers, (at 45,000 feet) but if you’re in San Diego or the Baja area and the sky is clear maybe you’ll consider looking up? I’m hoping someone has the ability to photograph this??? (let me know if anyone sees a photo of the GlobalFlyer over the US show up on the web)
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