A Tad Off Topic

[Sparky-Watts]

RE: Redrooster rollover pics

As of 9pm CST, Steve and the Global Flyer were roughly 450 miles NNW of Hawaii. There was a problem at the beginning of the flight with fuel loss, about 2600 lbs of fuel. They don't know whether the fuel was actually lost or if it is a sensor error, but the mission is close to being scrubbed. In the next 1 to 1 1/2 hours, they will make a final determination of whether or not they will continue on. If not, Steve will bank south and land at Honolulu, ending the record-breaking attempt. As of 9pm CST, he had flown 18,158 miles, and only had 4,479 miles to go to make it back to Salina. It would be a shame if he missed it by that much. I'll most likely stay up pretty late tonight to keep checking on the status, so I'll keep you posted. If he continues, I plan on making the drive back to Salina to watch the landing tomorrow.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

RE: Will the tires and rims off a 2005 Rubicon fit my on my

Whew!! Just got the update in the last couple of minutes, Steve is going to "go for it"! He was fearing that the tail winds would die off dramatically just past Hawaii to 40 knots. He needed an average of 58 to 60 knots all the way to make it, but it was much stronger over China and Japan, at 100 knots. Now they're saying the winds past Hawaii are "higher than 40 knots", though they didn't specify how much higher, so Steve thinks that will be enough to get him back to Salina, and the record book, tomorrow morning!!! The Global Flyer has a glide angle of 37:1, meaning for each foot in altitude it drops, it can glide forward 37 feet. A normal airliner has about a 10:1 glide angle. Steve holds the world record for gliding in an airplane, so he isn't worried about a safe landing should he run out of fuel in the air. Burt Rutan, the designer and engineer of the Global Flyer says it can glide 200 miles from the cruising altitude. I'm going to stay up a little while longer to see if they can get a good estimate on what time he will arrive. Man, I feel like it's my plane up there, I've really been sweating it for most of the day after that fuel problem was announced! They said it's good that it happened early in the flight, because that was 2600 lbs that he didn't have to carry with him. Had it happened later in the day, or tonight, it could have been very, very bad, because the plane would have burned more fuel by having to carry that extra weight, then when it lost it, he'd no doubt be landing in Honolulu.

More later!

 

[LBR]

cool 4.0L intake mod

Wed. 9:50 PST - Go for it, Steve - Looks like you'll be going over the Baja somewhere way, way South of me - can't see to the South due to large stand of old growth spruce trees, going to bed - nighty night - will check the website in AM LBR

 

[Sparky-Watts]

RE: Dana 60 front/Transmission questions

Steve Fossett set the record!! In just under 65 hours, he flew non-stop around the world without refueling!! Somewhere around 23,000 miles! He also set a record for the longest flight without refueling that was previously set by a B52 in 1962 of 12,000 miles.

Today was much better weather than Monday for the take off! 70 degrees with only a hint of a breeze. Absolutely beautiful!! He landed way up on the north end of the runway, and I was on the south end. He taxied all the way down to the south end for the crowds to see, and fortunately, I was sitting right at the taxiway he used to get off the runway and back to the hangar, so he passed about 100 feet away. Got a lot of good video of that, as well as several good 35mm pics with the zoom (close enough to see him waving in the cockpit, and then also several digital pics. I was standing by a couple that had driven from Minnesota to see him land! They shut down a 5 mile stretch of I-135 for about an hour before he landed, just in case he needed it to land on. Man, what a trip!

 

[southtj]

RE: AC Stopped running on a 2002 Liberty...Help? No warranty

I looked for you Sparky. I was in class and watched the live streaming video for about the last 30 minutes of his flight and until he got out of the plane. I didn't see you though. It was pretty cool to watch and I bet even better in person!

 

[LadyJeepFreak]

Re: RE: Dana 60 front/Transmission questions

Sparky

That is very awesome. I heard all the things you posted, that he may not make it and then that he did. I saw one shot of him standing outside the plane on the news tonight but I didn't have time to search for video or see anything live. It is an awesome event and thing he did, for sure. I read about his dietary habits on the plane, sounded uncomfortable but I guess those are the things you have to do to accomplish such a task. I'm glad you had such a great experience with this and were able to see him land. I know you were looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing it all with us!

Lady

 

[Sparky-Watts]

I liked the look on his face when Sir Richard Branson grabbed the champagne bottle out of his hands and started spraying him with it!!! Classic!!