Global Flyer

[cap-n-cray]

Another record?



Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer



Cary

 

[lizzyhermit]

yup, and a whole bunch of 'em.



solo, non-stop without refueling jet plane round the world 67+ hours ! not too shabby. way back in 1986 2 people did the first non-stop without refueling in a prop plane and it took 'em 9 days.

 

[snowracer69]

and he's also the brains behind WhiteKnight and SpaceShipOne. Burt Rutan is a giant among men when it comes to aerospace design. If I could stand living in California and the desert (true desert), I would do everything in my power to work for the man. However, I hate SoCal and the true desert with a passion! (I love high-desert Oregon/Nevada).



On a side note: One of my professors at school is the cousin of SpaceShipOne pilot Peter Siebold. He visited our campus last week and gave three presentations on the design, testing, and flights of SSO. Beings he is a fellow engineer, and the presentation I attended was in front of engineering students, we got to hear a lot of the technical side of the project (the "pilot" presentation wasn't nearly as good from what I heard). I hadn't kept up on the SSO project much, but after listening to him I had to read everything I could on it! Amazing stuff! Weird how little things we've learned at school really do play a role in this stuff (like when the ship did the three fast rolls unexpectedly... very simple problem that was easily fixed, and nowhere near what the news was saying it was).



I love seeing small, private companies doing this sort of thing. A quote from Rutan relayed through Siebold:



"It wasn't supposed to be easy. " - Burt Rutan



Anybody hear how they determined that global flyer did in fact have enough fuel to finish the flight? HAHAHAHA... only a bunch of engineers would have done it that way!

 

[Andy Perreault]

I was flipping back and forth between the cable news channels as Steve Fossett was on his final approach, and I got a kick out of the stupid babble by the reporters. One of them said, "This is the first propeller-powered plane to circle the globe. " Even on CNN's website, at the time I'm writing this, says (copy/paste):



"Fossett makes history

Pilot completes first nonstop, global flight without refueling

By Michael Coren

CNN

Thursday, March 3, 2005 Posted: 8:03 PM EST (0103 GMT)



(CNN) -- Flying from horizon to horizon, Steve Fossett completed the first nonstop, flight 'round-the-world without refueling on Thursday afternoon, landing gracefully in Kansas at 2:49 pm ET. "



Apparently, that reporter has never heard of Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager.

Andy

 

[lizzyhermit]

Anybody hear how they determined that global flyer did in fact have enough fuel to finish the flight? HAHAHAHA... only a bunch of engineers would have done it that way!

... . from what I heard, the "problem" disappeared when the fuel was shifted to the main tanks from the pod tanks. Maybe a gauge prob.



We "watched" the web cast on msnbc. We all laughed about the "instability" on approach while on auto pilot. Fosset at least retained his sense of humor. .

 

[Jumbo Jet]

My neighbor helped to build the AutoPilot!





Local Company Aids Record Setting Flight

Pilot makes first trip around world without stopping, refueling

By Steve Caraway

The Morning News





Jim Younkin, holding a horizon indicator, designed along with his partner the autopilot system used by Steve Fossett in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. Younkin and Chuck Bilbe own TruTrak Flight Systems at Springdale Municipal Airport.

Tom Ewart, The Morning News



SPRINGDALE -- Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo around the world without stopping or refueling, but he did have some help in the cockpit.



An autopilot designed and built by TruTrak Flight Systems of Springdale shared control of the GlobalFlyer with Fossett.



TruTrak General Manager Andrew Barker said he learned the autopilot was turned on three minutes after the plane took off. The autopilot was turned off 12 minutes before landing after the 67-hour flight. Barker and company co-founder Chuck Bilbe attended the landing in Salina, Kan.



Company co-founder Jim Younkin monitored flight data on the GlobalFlyer Web site and watched the landing from the company facility at the Springdale airport.





"There is no way a human pilot could fly a plane with that much precision," Younkin said. "It has to be the autopilot. "



Younkin and Bilbe designed the one-of-a-kind autopilot after they were approached by Fossett's group in 2002.



"They had talked to a company which designed for the military, but the company wanted half a million dollars," Younkin said. "I thought we could do it for less than that. "



TruTrak makes autopilots and other aircraft instruments for the experimental aircraft market.





The autopilot system, which included backups for the computer and the servo motors, was designed to control a plane even as the aircraft loses about 80 percent of its loaded weight while in flight. The weight loss come from the fuel burned during flight.



"We had to come up with a servo which was strong enough to handle the forces in the fully loaded plane," Younkin said. "Nobody had one that could handle that. "



The system also had to be responsive enough to guide the plane during a climb to 50,000 feet, which could take 10 hours. Younkin said most autopilots are designed to work at 25,000 feet, where response is much better due to the thicker atmosphere.



When finished, the autopilot could handle everything except takeoff and landing, Younkin said.



The TruTrak staff gathered to watch the airplane complete its historical flight.



"They are making a big deal about the landing," Younkin said. "The landing is nothing compared to the treacherous takeoff with the plane fully loaded. "



Fossett, whom Younkin said was a very good pilot, handled the touchdown to complete the historic flight.



"That was something I wanted to do for a long time, a major ambition," a jubilant Fossett said immediately after emerging from the custom-built GlobalFlyer.



An equally happy Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Atlantic founder who financed the flight, grabbed a bottle of champagne from Fossett, shook it up, and sprayed down his pilot and longtime friend. Fossett then guzzled from the bottle in celebration.



Fossett, 60, already holds the record for flying solo around the globe in a balloon. He failed five times before successfully completing that flight, but needed just one try to make the trip in a plane.



There was some doubt Fossett would make it back to Salina. Fuel sensors in the custom-built plane's 13 tanks differed from readings of how quickly its single jet engine was burning fuel, forcing Fossett's crew to assume that 2,600 of the original 18,100 pounds of fuel "disappeared. "



It was not clear whether there was an actual leak or just a problem with the sensors, Fossett's team said.



Facing a decision near Hawaii about whether to land or press ahead over the vast Pacific Ocean for the U. S. mainland, Fossett told his team, "Let's go for it. " Hours later, pushed by strong tail winds that left him with enough in the tanks to finish the global trek, he safely crossed over Los Angeles and turned northeast for Salina, touching down there at 1:48 p. m.



The Associated Press contributed to this report

 

[snowracer69]

... . from what I heard, the "problem" disappeared when the fuel was shifted to the main tanks from the pod tanks. Maybe a gauge prob.

The way I heard it was they determined his remaining fuel onboard by starting a series of slow rolls. They were able to calculate his roll-rate and from that determined the moment of inertia of the aircraft. Knowing all about the structure, the only thing left to imparct MOI is the fuel. They said "yep, you've got enough. " Gosh darn rocket scientists! :-laf

 

[lizzyhermit]

kinda like the good ole boys in Nascar, swerving to get the fuel picked up !

 

[lizzyhermit]

glide ?

we heard somewhere along the flight that the Global Flyer could only glide ~50 miles from that 45k ft altitude. seems a little short. more than a helicopter but ??????????????????