Flight record 'will be close'

2006-02-07 10:45

Cape Canaveral - Aviation adventurer Steve Fossett says he isn't sure he'll succeed in his quest to break the 20-year-old record for the longest flight.

First, there's the combustible danger of taking off with thousands of kilograms of fuel attached to a very light aircraft. Then there's the unpredictability of weather and worries about running out of fuel.

"It will be very close," Fossett said on Monday at a news conference accompanied by Richard Branson, whose company, Virgin Atlantic, is sponsoring the flight.

Fossett was set to take off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Tuesday on the 43&nbs;470km trip around the world, and then on to London, in a spindly experimental airplane that helped him break a different record last year.

Leak a hassle

Last March, Fossett became the first person to fly solo nonstop, without refuelling, around the globe in 67 hours in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer experimental plane. During the trip, he lost 1 400kg of fuel from a leak but still landed with a reserve of 680kg of fuel.

If it hadn't been for the leak, "the plane would have been able to fly substantially further", Fossett said. "We have designed this flight to use the full capability of this airplane, to fly further than any plane has ever flown."

If Fossett completes this three-day trip, he will surpass the previous airplane record of 40 210km set in 1986 as well as a balloon record of 40 810km set in 1999.

Hectic schedule

Fossett's aircraft is glider-like, with a 35m wing span, and made of graphite.

"It already has been through the rigours of flying around the world," Branson said.

Fossett planned to spend Monday making any final changes to the route, which required permission from countries around the world, and evaluating weather conditions. He also will try to sleep since he will only be able to take five-minute catnaps during the 80-hour voyage.

"There will be no parties for me tonight," he said.

- AP