ASSOCIATED PRESS The GlobalFlyer, piloted by Steve Fossett, took off yesterday from the municipal airport in Salina, Kan. Fossett is expected to fly over Hawaii sometime tomorrow night.

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Millionaire begins
attempt to fly solo
nonstop around world

SALINA, Kan. » Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett took off last night on his attempt to become the first person to complete a solo trip around the world in an airplane without making a single stop.

Fossett, the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, launched his GlobalFlyer from the Salina Municipal Airport shortly before 7 p.m., beginning a 66-hour journey by climbing northeast into a darkening sky.

Hundreds of spectators, braving a bitterly cold wind, gathered along the 2-mile runway to watch the takeoff. Fossett hopes to return to Salina on Thursday.

The 23,000-mile flight had already been postponed several times because of shifting jet stream patterns or weather at the airport.

"I'm a bit nervous about takeoff," said Fossett, 60, who has logged about 30 hours in the jet-powered aircraft. "I will be the ultimate test pilot. I have a lot to worry about. It's a major endeavor."

Financed by Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson, it would be the first solo flight around the world without stopping to refuel.

Branson watched the takeoff from the side of the runway with Fossett's wife. "It was obviously an emotional moment and the most dangerous part of the journey," he said. "It was an enormous relief when it actually came off the ground."

Aviation pioneer Wiley Post made the first solo around-the-world trip in 1933, taking more than seven days and stopping numerous times along the way. The first nonstop global flight without refueling by a duo was made in 1986 by Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, brother of Burt Rutan, designer of the GlobalFlyer.

Besides the nonstop record, Fossett will attempt to break seven other aviation records, including the longest flight by a jet aircraft. The current record is more than 12,000 miles, set by a B-52 bomber in 1962.

Fossett's route is to take him over northern Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Japan, Midway and Hawaii. If all goes according to plan, he will pass over Honolulu tomorrow night.

Fossett planned to fly at an average speed of 287.5 mph and rely on the jet stream to stretch his fuel. The GlobalFlyer will have about 15 percent extra fuel to allow for weather conditions or other changes to the flight plan, said Jon Karkow, chief engineer for the flight.

Fossett will survive on diet milkshakes. "I just picked a bunch of flavors off the shelf at the store," he said.

In December 1998, Fossett, Branson and Per Lindstrand aborted their attempt at a round-the-world balloon flight, ditching about 10 miles north of Oahu on Christmas morning.