It looks like Steve's going to make it after all

Posted on: Mar. 3rd, 2005 || Source: virginatlanticglobalflyer.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

It looks like Steve's going to make it after all

Steve Fossett, in conjunction with Mission Control, has decided to carry on past Hawaii and should arrive at Salina tomorrow at around midday.

The flight has been significantly assisted by trailing jetstreams over the Pacific Ocean that were higher than predicted, with tailwind speeds in excess of 130 knots. As Steve heads to the north-east of Hawaii and changes direction, however, these winds will drop significantly to as low as 30 knots.

At 04:00UTC this evening, Steve had 3,200 pounds of fuel remaining and fuel consumption has dropped to around 160 pounds per hour. The draining of the wing tanks to the central main booms was successful and its completion was the turning point of the attempt according to Jon Karkow. Once draining was completed, Mission Control was able to accurately measure the amount of fuel in the aircraft, which was roughly the amount they had estimated.

If Steve continues to have reasonable tailwinds and manages to continue flying the aircraft at its optimum fuel efficiency, he should make it back safely with some fuel to spare.

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