GlobalFlyer--deadsticking to a street near you

[9GClub]

He's gonna freakin' run out of gas.....

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/03/02/globalflyer.fossett/index.html

 

[minitour]

That's gotta suck...

 

[mattpilot]

yup... at least he has the record for longest flight on an aircraft with a jet engine. Previously held by a B52.

 

[ultrarunner]

N277sf...

if you want to plug that into your tracker.

 

[nosehair]

What? Fuel guages aren't supposed to be accurate, anyway.

Didn't he visually check the gas before take-off?

Sheesh!

 

[DashTrash400]

What? Fuel guages aren't supposed to be accurate, anyway.

Didn't he visually check the gas before take-off?

Sheesh!

Yup! Dunno bout you, but I personally clamber up on top of the ole Dash 8 to visually check fuel level before each and every fligh!

 

[MTpilot]

Your supposed check that?

 

[urflyingme?!]

i heard the fuel kid at the FBO was on his cell phone with his girlfriend when he was gassing it....

 

[garf12]

haha I love the title.

 

[Rattler71]

Yup! Dunno bout you, but I personally clamber up on top of the ole Dash 8 to visually check fuel level before each and every fligh!

Is that assuming you are taking off with full tanks every time? If not, then how do know, if you are not relying on the guages?

Rattler71

 

[User546]

He's probably been running with his mixture full rich this whole time, and didn't realize the ramifications of that!

 

[MTpilot]

That's how I plan!

Go ahead be optimistic

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/News/hawaii.jsp

 

[Kingairrick]

Call me a cynic, but I think he has the fuel to make it. I can't believe that an error this large would happen on a flight of this nature. They have to have planned better than that. I think they weren't getting enough press, so they invented a little "suspenseful drama." My money is on him "just squeaking it in against all odds."

My .02

 

[WizardPilot]

They do have 4 College traniee pilots doing all the planning.....I would fit into that category, but GO ROOKIES.

 

[Immelman]

They mentioned that this flight, THE flight, was the first time the tanks had actually been topped off. No kidding.

That could very well lead to some crazy evaporation/fuel vent problem causing them to lose gas while the tanks were near full. There is also a blurb on the website about how they think the 'missing' fuel gave them better initial climb/cruise performance than expected.

 

[mattpilot]

Call me a cynic, but I think he has the fuel to make it. I can't believe that an error this large would happen on a flight of this nature. They have to have planned better than that. I think they weren't getting enough press, so they invented a little "suspenseful drama." My money is on him "just squeaking it in against all odds."

My .02

you'd be a optimist then, not a cynic. A cynic is someone who sees something in a negative light

 

[FN FAL]

you'd be a optimist then, not a cynic. A cynic is someone who sees something in a negative light

There is no such thing as "negative light".

You either have light or you don't. If you don't, it's dark.

 

[Flying Illini]

Looks like they're going for it. I've been following him on my flight tracker since late last night (when I got back from a trip). He is now approaching the west coast. There is a Citation 10 that is out flying circles around him with a "Virgin" callsign (that departed from VNY and will continue to SLN with SF)...probably waiting for a little daylight before joining up with the global flyer.

 

[Rattler71]

Call me a cynic, but I think he has the fuel to make it. I can't believe that an error this large would happen on a flight of this nature. They have to have planned better than that. I think they weren't getting enough press, so they invented a little "suspenseful drama." My money is on him "just squeaking it in against all odds."

My .02

I agree 100%. I would love to have 2600 lbs left after an international flight, and he lost that much?

So he had to have had more than that to make it.

Something seems fishy. Of course, if he does run out and sticks it somewhere, I will look stupid.

Rattler71

 

[Kingairrick]

I guess I meant cynical about human nature and the probability that they were telling the truth about the fuel situation. I was obviously optimistic about the completion of the flight.

They have now announced that he has the gas...

 

[mattpilot]

i also think it was just a publicity stunt to get more attention..... :/

 

[mattpilot]

he's over LA right now..

 

[User546]

i also think it was just a publicity stunt to get more attention..... :/

I second that. Like another poster had said before, they were getting no media publicity until they reported the fuel problem. Now CNN and everyone is carrying them on the front page with up to the minute news coverage!

They can afford to lose 2,600 lbs "extra" on a around the world flight?? Who knows, maybe, but it sounds defintely fishy to me.

 

[TrafficInSight]

They also said they had encountered more favorable tailwinds than they had planned on... would that make up the extra 2600 lbs.... I don't know... but maybe.

I can believe the "first time the tanks have been topped" thing too because the same exact thing happened to Voyager when it went around the world. They had never tried with a full fuel load before and when they topped the tanks for the flight the wingtips dragged on the ground. The winglets were heavily damaged and departed the aircraft once it was in flight but it was decided that they could go on without them. Which they did.

 

[Dash8]

yes im a geek, but i just read 'brief history of time' and did stay at a H.I. express

There is no such thing as "negative light".

You either have light or you don't. If you don't, it's dark.

well fn, techincally speaking,
with a dense enough gravity well (singularity, blackhole, etal) there could be enough draw to remove passing light thereby appearing to be 'negative light'

not to get all cosmological on ya

 

[Dash8]

oh yeah, and it wouldn't surprise me if sir richard played up any 'fuel issues' to drum up some extra publicity, watchin cnn now, and the only people there are news satelite trucks, some virgin people, and the local highschool band apparantely...

kinda dissapointing turnout really, for the first solo nonstop turbine circumnavigation

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

less than 100 miles to go, or he may have landed

is he operating under FARs or something else?

if FOsset knew he was running out of fuel, and purposefuly pressed on (w/out VFR/IFR reserves) and crashed as a result of running dry, killing a person...would he be found liable of violating the FARs and as a result, could the criminal charges be brought forth?

 

[Foxcow]

oh yeah, and it wouldn't surprise me if sir richard played up any 'fuel issues' to drum up some extra publicity, watchin cnn now, and the only people there are news satelite trucks, some virgin people, and the local highschool band apparantely...

kinda dissapointing turnout really, for the first solo nonstop turbine circumnavigation

Not to mention single engine. That was the part that got me!!

Gotta love rich old people with too much money and time to burn. It will be one helluva logbook entry...

 

[TrafficInSight]

oh yeah, and it wouldn't surprise me if sir richard played up any 'fuel issues' to drum up some extra publicity, watchin cnn now, and the only people there are news satelite trucks, some virgin people, and the local highschool band apparantely...

kinda dissapointing turnout really, for the first solo nonstop turbine circumnavigation

What do you expect when you launch from Salina Kansas and cancel your launch date over and over again. It can't really be helped obviously but it's not surprising.

I belong to an aviation mailing list and every time they would announce a date they would start making plans to fly out there and every time they'd have the plans made the mission would scrub... by the last time, when they actually went, everyone was like "Sorry, I can't get any more time off work."