VIRGIN ATLANTIC ANNOUNCES LAUNCH SITE AND MISSION CONTROL FOR THE VIRGIN
ATLANTIC GLOBALFLYER RECORD ATTEMPT
Virgin Atlantic Airways today announced that the launch site for the
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer record attempt will be the Salina Municipal
(KSLN) Airport, Kansas, USA. Mission control will also be based in
Salina at Kansas State University at Salina. The record attempt is
planned to take place from early January 2005 dependent on favorable
weather conditions and the route will take the aircraft over cities
such as Chicago, Montreal, London, Paris, Rome, Cairo, Karachi,
Shanghai, Tokyo, Honolulu and Los Angeles.
The radical aircraft will be piloted by Steve Fossett, the current Round
the World Record holder in both Balloons and Sailboats. He will attempt
to break the last great aviation record by making the first solo
non-stop flight around the world. The pioneering aircraft - the
world's most efficient jet plane - has been designed by aviation legend
Burt Rutan. It is hoped the record attempt will be successfully
completed within 80 hours. Sir Richard Branson will follow the flight
in the support aircraft and is the reserve pilot.
The Municipal Salina Airport has been chosen for a number of reasons
including its location near the geographic centre of the United States,
the excellent facilities available at the airport itself and crucially
its brand new runway which is 12,300 ft - one of the longest in North
America. Mission control will be based at K-State's Kansas State
University, Salina's College of Technology and Aviation, which is
located directly adjacent to the Salina Municipal Airport. From there
the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer's progress around the world will be
monitored through constant communication with Steve Fossett in the
aircraft.
Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic, said:
"Virgin Atlantic is delighted to be launching this historic record
attempt from Salina, Kansas and I hope that we can add Salina to the
roll call of sites like Kitty Hawk which have been the setting for
milestones in aviation history.
The Salina Municipal Airport has excellent facilities to offer for this
unique aircraft, giving the pioneering record attempt the very best
chance of success. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both
the Salina Airport Authority and Kansas State University and the Salina
Area Chamber of Commerce for supporting the record attempt and we look
forward to working with our Salina partners in January."
Steve Fossett, pilot of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, said:
"This will be an endurance test for me and the Virgin Atlantic
GlobalFlyer. Salina's location in the middle of the USA is a major
advantage. If I run out of fuel in the last thousand miles, I will be
able to glide to a safe landing in any airport in Western USA. If I had
chosen a West Coast airport, I would risk ditching in the Pacific if I
run out of fuel near the end of the Round the World Flight."
Tim Rogers, Executive Director for the Salina Airport Authority, said:
"Salina is extremely pleased to be selected as both the launch site and
mission control site for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. It is both
an honor and a privilege to work with Sir Richard Branson and Steve
Fossett.
During the past year I've learned that the whole Virgin Atlantic
GlobalFlyer team is the best there is. Steve's support staff and the
employees at Virgin Atlantic are simply the most outstanding and
professional group of individuals I've worked with."
Kevin Stass, Mission Control Director, commented:
"Salina Municipal Airport is a fantastic facility for the Virgin
Atlantic GlobalFlyer project. Coupled with the Mission Control
facility at Kansas State University, I can't think of a better place to
start and finish this amazing flight. Tim Rogers, Dennis Kuhlman and
Gerald Cook (President and CEO of the Salina Chamber of Commerce) have
the same "can do" attitude that is the lifeblood of Virgin Atlantic,
Sir Richard Branson and Steve Fossett. I look forward to working with
them and being part of this great team that achieves the last great
goal in aviation history."
Dennis Kuhlman, Dean of K-State at Salina, said:
"I cannot express how excited we are to host the GlobalFlyer project in
the community of Salina, not to mention having mission control on our
campus and to be able to share the hands-on experience with K-State
students makes this an unforgettable opportunity."
Built by Scaled Composites, the aircraft is a single pilot, single
engine turbofan aircraft designed for non-stop global circumnavigation.
Scaled used computer aided aerodynamics to design the aircraft. The
structure of the plane is entirely made from composite material and
will be ultra light. The aircraft will fly at 45,000ft and travel
40,000 km at speeds in excess of 250 knots (285 mph, 440 kph). The
aircraft will fly 75% further than the range record for jet-powered
planes.
A dedicated web site - www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com - will provide
details of the project. It will give updates on its progress over the
coming weeks and will provide an unprecedented level of live coverage
of the record attempt during the flight itself. The site is being
designed and managed by Conchango and hosted by Energis.
For further information, including pictures, fact sheets and footage
please contact the Virgin Atlantic Press Office on 01293 747373 or log
onto www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com
<http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com>
Steve Fossett
Steve Fossett holds official world records in balloons, sailboats,
gliders, jet aircraft and airships. He is a pilot 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 19 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 for Cessna in a Citation X include records
for U.S. Transcontinental, Australia Transcontinental, and
Round-the-World Westbound non-supersonic flights. In 2002 Fossett
received aviation's highest award, the Gold Medal of the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).
pretty damn cool no?
ATLANTIC GLOBALFLYER RECORD ATTEMPT
Virgin Atlantic Airways today announced that the launch site for the
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer record attempt will be the Salina Municipal
(KSLN) Airport, Kansas, USA. Mission control will also be based in
Salina at Kansas State University at Salina. The record attempt is
planned to take place from early January 2005 dependent on favorable
weather conditions and the route will take the aircraft over cities
such as Chicago, Montreal, London, Paris, Rome, Cairo, Karachi,
Shanghai, Tokyo, Honolulu and Los Angeles.
The radical aircraft will be piloted by Steve Fossett, the current Round
the World Record holder in both Balloons and Sailboats. He will attempt
to break the last great aviation record by making the first solo
non-stop flight around the world. The pioneering aircraft - the
world's most efficient jet plane - has been designed by aviation legend
Burt Rutan. It is hoped the record attempt will be successfully
completed within 80 hours. Sir Richard Branson will follow the flight
in the support aircraft and is the reserve pilot.
The Municipal Salina Airport has been chosen for a number of reasons
including its location near the geographic centre of the United States,
the excellent facilities available at the airport itself and crucially
its brand new runway which is 12,300 ft - one of the longest in North
America. Mission control will be based at K-State's Kansas State
University, Salina's College of Technology and Aviation, which is
located directly adjacent to the Salina Municipal Airport. From there
the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer's progress around the world will be
monitored through constant communication with Steve Fossett in the
aircraft.
Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic, said:
"Virgin Atlantic is delighted to be launching this historic record
attempt from Salina, Kansas and I hope that we can add Salina to the
roll call of sites like Kitty Hawk which have been the setting for
milestones in aviation history.
The Salina Municipal Airport has excellent facilities to offer for this
unique aircraft, giving the pioneering record attempt the very best
chance of success. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both
the Salina Airport Authority and Kansas State University and the Salina
Area Chamber of Commerce for supporting the record attempt and we look
forward to working with our Salina partners in January."
Steve Fossett, pilot of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, said:
"This will be an endurance test for me and the Virgin Atlantic
GlobalFlyer. Salina's location in the middle of the USA is a major
advantage. If I run out of fuel in the last thousand miles, I will be
able to glide to a safe landing in any airport in Western USA. If I had
chosen a West Coast airport, I would risk ditching in the Pacific if I
run out of fuel near the end of the Round the World Flight."
Tim Rogers, Executive Director for the Salina Airport Authority, said:
"Salina is extremely pleased to be selected as both the launch site and
mission control site for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. It is both
an honor and a privilege to work with Sir Richard Branson and Steve
Fossett.
During the past year I've learned that the whole Virgin Atlantic
GlobalFlyer team is the best there is. Steve's support staff and the
employees at Virgin Atlantic are simply the most outstanding and
professional group of individuals I've worked with."
Kevin Stass, Mission Control Director, commented:
"Salina Municipal Airport is a fantastic facility for the Virgin
Atlantic GlobalFlyer project. Coupled with the Mission Control
facility at Kansas State University, I can't think of a better place to
start and finish this amazing flight. Tim Rogers, Dennis Kuhlman and
Gerald Cook (President and CEO of the Salina Chamber of Commerce) have
the same "can do" attitude that is the lifeblood of Virgin Atlantic,
Sir Richard Branson and Steve Fossett. I look forward to working with
them and being part of this great team that achieves the last great
goal in aviation history."
Dennis Kuhlman, Dean of K-State at Salina, said:
"I cannot express how excited we are to host the GlobalFlyer project in
the community of Salina, not to mention having mission control on our
campus and to be able to share the hands-on experience with K-State
students makes this an unforgettable opportunity."
Built by Scaled Composites, the aircraft is a single pilot, single
engine turbofan aircraft designed for non-stop global circumnavigation.
Scaled used computer aided aerodynamics to design the aircraft. The
structure of the plane is entirely made from composite material and
will be ultra light. The aircraft will fly at 45,000ft and travel
40,000 km at speeds in excess of 250 knots (285 mph, 440 kph). The
aircraft will fly 75% further than the range record for jet-powered
planes.
A dedicated web site - www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com - will provide
details of the project. It will give updates on its progress over the
coming weeks and will provide an unprecedented level of live coverage
of the record attempt during the flight itself. The site is being
designed and managed by Conchango and hosted by Energis.
For further information, including pictures, fact sheets and footage
please contact the Virgin Atlantic Press Office on 01293 747373 or log
onto www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com
<http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com>
Steve Fossett
Steve Fossett holds official world records in balloons, sailboats,
gliders, jet aircraft and airships. He is a pilot 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 19 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 for Cessna in a Citation X include records
for U.S. Transcontinental, Australia Transcontinental, and
Round-the-World Westbound non-supersonic flights. In 2002 Fossett
received aviation's highest award, the Gold Medal of the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).
pretty damn cool no?
kind thinking
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