Another first for Fossett

2005-07-03 21:40

Clifden - Commemorating the first trans-Atlantic flight 86 years ago, adventurer Steve Fossett and his co-pilot successfully flew an old-world biplane across the Atlantic and landed on Sunday on an Irish golf course to the cheers of 2 000 onlookers.

Fossett and antique airplane enthusiast Mark Rebholz, who jointly operated a custom-built replica Vickers Vimy, wanted to honour and emulate the June 1919 achievement of British pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown.

Both air crews flew from Newfoundland to Clifden in western Ireland using compasses and sextants for navigation.

While Alcock and Whitten-Brown managed the feat in 16 hours, 20 minutes, Fossett and Rebholz took about 45 minutes longer.

And while the British pioneers crash-landed in a bog, their American successors landed smoothly on a local golf course.

Fossett, 60, who already holds world records in five pursuits - in balloons, sailboats, gliders, airships and powered aircraft - said the challenge this time was to operate an aircraft that had no modern power steering.

"This was an endurance test," Fossett said. "This airplane is very primitive. <>"You have to keep your hands on the controls at all times. If you let go, the plane will go out of control."

Rebholz, 52, said they had "intentionally minimised the instrumentation on the plane" to try to replicate some of the challenges that faced Alcock and Whitten-Brown - but conceded that use of a modern radio must have made them feel a lot more at ease.

"On the way over we were in contact with all the commercial airlines flying overhead," Rebholz said.

"That is a comforting feeling, talking to other people while you're flying."

Still, Fossett said, both of them were wearing all-weather survival gear in case they had to crash-land in the Atlantic.

"We were doing not what would be called a safe flight," he said, "but basically a flight that was under control with an acceptable risk".

The pair left St John's, Newfoundland, at 19:20 local time (23:20 GMT) on Saturday and touched down near Clifden at 17:04 (16:04 GMT) on Sunday.

Fossett and Rebholz had hoped to take off June 14 - the anniversary of Alcock and Whitten-Brown's flight - but were grounded by bad weather and equipment problems.

- AP