Fossett's historic balloon lands
2002-09-06 10:09
Washington - High-flying adventurer Steve Fossett claimed his place in US aviation annals on Thursday, handing over to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum the "Spirit of Freedom" hot-air balloon capsule that carried him around the globe in a ballooning first in July.
As the Wright brothers' "Kitty Hawk" and Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" hovered overhead, the former financial markets trader who became the first person to fly solo around the globe in a balloon said his place among the museum's "Milestones of Flight" was another dream come true.
"It was about trying to earn a place in aviation history," a beaming Fossett told a news conference marking the donation. "This is a very happy moment."
Museum officials said the balloon's bright yellow gondola, made out of a tough man-made fibre called kevlar, would be hung next to the army airplane that in 1924 became the first aircraft to circumnavigate the world.
A strategically placed mirror will allow visitors to peer into the Spartan cabin furnished with a single sleeping bunk, navigation table and tiny laptop computer and lined with rows of switches bearing labels like "fan", "burner" and "alarm".
There is also the bucket.
"This is what everybody asks about," said Fossett, clambering into the capsule and holding aloft the simple white plastic bucket that served as his chamber pot for the two weeks he circled the earth.
Fossett's July triumph over the elements and the limits of human endurance came after five failed attempts, including a harrowing plunge into the Coral Sea during his fourth try.
The National Aeronautic Association also presented Fossett with certification of new records he set for distance - 20 482 miles - and duration - (14 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes) - as well as for the shortest time to circle the globe -(13 days, 12 hours and 10 minutes).
Fossett has already embarked on his next adventure - a quest to fly a glider into the stratosphere.
His first attempt in August failed, but he said on Thursday he would head to California next February and March and to New Zealand in June for further attempts.