Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer

Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
GlobalFlyer at Mojave Air & Space Port
Type:	Ultra long range aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Scaled composites
First flight:	March 5, 2004
Number of pieces:	1

Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer at Kennedy Space Center

Steve Fossett in the cockpit of the GlobalFlyer

The GlobalFlyer (Scaled Composites Model 311, aircraft registration 'N277SF') is an aircraft built by Scaled Composites for Steve Fossett . He took off with him on March 1, 2005 at 0:45 UTC to orbit the earth in a non-stop flight . It landed back at its launch site in Salina , Kansas , at 19:48 UTC on March 3 , after completing the 36,898.04 km distance in 67 hours, two minutes and 38 seconds. Eight FAI records were set on this flight .

The aircraft is powered by a Williams International FJ44-3 ATW turbofan - jet engine driven by a static thrust of 10.2 kN and has only a narrow cockpit equipped with an autopilot is equipped and a Sauerstoffnotsystem. The 13 fuel tanks hold 10,200 liters of kerosene and account for 83% of the takeoff weight . In order to save mass, equipment such as B. waived a de-icing system for the wings.

Another record flight with Steve Fossett took off on February 8, 2006 at 07:22 local time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida . The aim was to beat the long-distance record of 40,210 km. This record attempt ended successfully after a 76 hours and 45 minute flight with a landing at Bournemouth Airport in southern England. Since the fuel consumption at the start of the flight was higher than planned, the originally planned airport was not reached, but a new long-distance record was set with 41,467.53 km.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	1
length	13.44 m
span	34.75 m
height	4.04 m
Wing area	37.16 m²
Glide ratio	37
Empty mass	1,623 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	9,980 kg
Cruising speed	483 km / h
Top speed	approx. 550 km / h
Service ceiling	15,850 m
Range	37,000 km
fuel	10,200 liters
Engines	1 × Williams FJ44-3 ATW
thrust	10.2 kN

See also

• Voyager - the first aircraft to make a non-stop circumnavigation of the world without refueling
• Experimental airplane
• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of the GlobalFlyer project ( Memento from June 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
• FAI records of M311 (English)
• Flug Revue: Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer ( Memento from April 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Successful first test flight for Steve's solo Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. (No longer available online.) Steve Fossett Challenges, March 10, 2004, archived from the original on February 5, 2012 ; accessed on January 27, 2012 (English).