First solo, non-stop round the world airplane flight

(Salina airport, Kansas, USA - Salina airport, Kansas, USA)

Steve Fossett has done it. Again. At approx. 1:37 pm local time (19h37 GMT) this afternoon, famed American pilot Steve Fossett returned to Salina Municipal Airport and once again flew straight into the history books, becoming the first person to achieve a solo, non-stop round the world airplane flight aboard the extraordinary single jet-engine powered Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

Steve's total flight time for the almost 20 000 mile journey, which began Sunday at sunset was approximately 66 hrs and 50 mins, an average speed of nearly 300 mph.

After nearly 3 days surviving only on 'power napping' and diet milkshakes, an ecstatic Fossett drank Champagne with wife Peggy and sponser Sir Richard Branson and said;

"This is a dream I've had for a long time..."

Having set numerous records and world 'firsts', Steve Fossett holds official world records in 5 sports - powered aircraft, free balloons, airships, gliders and sailing.

His Plane: Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer

Scaled's 'Model 311' aircraft is a single engine turbofan aircraft specifically designed for non-stop global circumnavigation by a solo pilot with no passengers. The 'Voyager' aircraft which took Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager around the world non-stop could well be considered 311's 'big sister', but evolution and invention on the part of Burt himself and Jon Karkow has certainly played its part in making this aircraft unique.

Aerodynamics are key to this aircraft, and its configuration is optimised for range and fuel efficiency. The aircraft's aerodynamics have been designed using extremely sophisticated computing technology that uses computational fluid dynamics to predict how the aircraft's surfaces will behave in flight. The aircraft is so aerodynamically perfect, that the only practical way to descend is using drag parachutes, like the ones in the picture above. As the aircraft is only required to land once, these won't be detachable and will take time to reset.

The aircraft is a trimaran-like construction with two huge external 'booms' which hold the landing gear, and 5,454 pounds of fuel on either side of the pilot's cockpit in the centre on top of which is the single Williams turbofan jet engine. The construction materials used for the structure of this aircraft are all graphite/epoxy. The stiffest carbon fibers are used in the construction of the wings, and the skin is a sandwich of graphite/epoxy and Aramid honeycomb.

The aircraft doesn't have what is known as 'deicing' or 'anti-ice' measures. This means that it will be unable to fly in 'icing' conditions. In addition, it won't cope with turbulence very well in the early part of the flight when the aircraft is heavy and structural margins low; so weather will be an important factor in choosing when and where to take off from.

The pilot, Steve, will sit in the main fuselage, the centre pod, just behind the nose landing gear and below the engine. He'll also be sitting in front of the main fuel header tank which feeds the engine. Early on in the project, there were huge obstacles to overcome caused by siting the engine so close to the pilot concering noise levels. Quite frankly,... it was too loud! Fortunately that's been overcome now. Steve will also be sitting in a pressurised cabin because of the altitude he will be flying at, which will give him a 'cabin altitude' of 10,000 feet at the 45,000 feet he'll actually be flying at. The cockpit itself is a mere 7 feet long. It is equipped with a reclining carbon fiber seat. However, to get a good enough view for take off and landing, Steve will need to sit on cushions as the seat isn't high enough.

There are thirteen fuel tanks all in all, and on take-off, it is expected that this aircraft will be 83% fuel by weight. Which must be a world record surely? Getting fuel to where it's needed whilst maintaining the balance and stability of the aircraft is a feat that will require constant supervision and monitoring. The fuel itself will be a special fuel that has a much lower freezing point that regular aviation fuel.

• Wing Span: 114ft
• Wing Area: 400ft squared
• Length: 44.1ft
• Height: 13.3ft
• Gross Weight: 22,000 lbs
• Empty Weight: 3,350 lbs

(VIRGIN ATLANTIC FLYER)