here's life

...and returns to the same place.
This morning I got up, looked on the web and saw that I had about 2 hours before Fossett landed in Salina KS, after circling the globe (again). This will be the third earth-circling trip he has taken in the aptly named Global Flyer. This time, he was going for the longest closed circuit flight, so he took the scenic route around, and landed and took off from the same place, Salina.

I put my bike in the car, in case I couldn't park very close, and would have to walk a long way. And I made some lunch and drove the hour and a half north. Steve was over Texas, and started his long decent.
I arrived in the town, headed over to the airport, trying to find the best vantage point. I followed a car to the south side, and found a half dozen cars parked by the road. So, I got out, bundled up, grabbed my camera and went looking for the best view. So much for the 2000 person crowd reported during his first landing! More people arrived, and I stood with a small group opposite the end of the runway. The radio reported his progress. Suddenly the runway lights came to life. I would estimate that visibility was 3 miles---it was overcast. Finally one guy spotted him: "He's there above the camper" he pointed above the field in front of us. Finally I picked him up, just a dark, dotted line in the uniform grey cloud. As he neared, I began to take pictures and began to hear the low whine of the William jet engine idling toward us. One drouge chute was out--a necessity, since the plane will climb if the landing gear aren't down, even on low throttle. He came sailing smoothly over us and then settled toward the runway, slightly crabbing into the wind. The radio told us when he touched down, he was far in the distance down the long Salina runway.
Salina is known as a fuel stop for commercial and military aircraft alike, situated as it is in the center of the country, and with it's two miles of paved runway, it makes and excellent home for the Global Flyer. The 900 person K-State student body does an excellent job supporting this extraordinary plane. This flight K-State upped their involvement, not only providing Mission Control, but also the maintenance team and other support.



I got in my car, and was driving north along the airport wondering where the press conference was, and I began looking for the plane as I glimpsed the runway. Finally I saw it, and I saw that people were gathering on the tarmac. So, I quickly pulled in, and hopped out. We watched as the plane was carefully and slowly towed off the runway, and brought up to the roped-off area where the 50+ spectators had gathered. Fossett, in his white flight suit, his wife, and others follow in a vehicle. First there was all the necessary pictures and toasting, and I think the press interviewed him briefly. It was pretty low-key. The student maintenance crew looked over the plane, and Steve left, followed by most of the crowd.



Then people started crossing the rope and getting their picture taken with this history-making, carefully designed, piece of carbon fibre. A guy I had been talking with during this whole thing took my picture next to it. Look here for more, better, pictures. I was just about to take a picture of him, when his batteries died. But, I had some in my camera, and newly charged ones in my pocket, so he was able to keep clicking away. Meanwhile, I got down and looked at the frost covered landing gear, and walked under the wings, and examined the parachute stowage system. I was suprised to find varnished wood for the tail skids--not much larger than the skid on the tail of my plane. One was slightly scratched, but the other had a good bit of wood ground off, as the tail bumped the runway during takeoff. The wings were long and thin, the tip slightly and gracefully curving up at the back. The engine seemed to have leaked small amounts of orange fluid during flight, and red fluid after landing. On the tail control surfaces were interesting static wicks--if that is what they were--pieces of carbon fibre lasagna fastened to the trailing edges. It was a one-of-a-kind plane but probably not the best plane that will ever be designed for long distance flight. Your turn.

At first glance, it seems that beating yet another record has little value--can't someone just give Steve an "I Win!" button? What good does it do to fly 25,320 miles and end up where you started? On the other hand, Orville could have run that 120 feet in a few seconds, and when they were done, they put the Flyer back into the same hanger it was in that morning, but it proved it was possible, and maybe more important was the inspiration to them and others. To show people that amazing things can be done, huge goals can be set, and reached. It shows that the conventional limits are short sighted. It makes me want to do something, something that has never been done before. It makes me happy to know that when the plane is hung in the Smithsonian later this year, I will have already walked around it, under it, and examined some of it's finer exterior details. I was there.


Another link to more pictures:here.