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Man wings his way into history
Two local men are there to see Steve Fossett's plane land at the end of his trip around the world
By Ben Holman
Nevada Daily Mail
After 67 hours and 23,000 miles, Steve Fossett's GlobalFlyer touched down at the Salina, Kan., airport Thursday, marking the end of an historic and record-setting circumnavigation of the Earth. Among the thousands of spectators who made the journey to the small Kansas city were two Nevada residents, Dr. Ron Jones and Don Wood.
"(It was) a brush with history," said Jones, in an account of the day written to the Daily Mail. "It wasn't planned, but I had taken off three days to do some kitchen tiling, and realized that Steve Fossett ... would be landing in Salina."
Jones said that he decided that tiling could wait and he asked Wood if he would like to come along on the trip -- "Count me in," was the reply.
Jones and Wood left Nevada in Jones' private plane and the flight out went smoothly. "Don and I were treated like royalty, as we were driven in a golf cart to the hangar where we were given 'VIP' badges." He said that they were treated to all the pizza and ice cream they could eat.
He said that the 160-member Salina South High School marching band was present for the event along with the throngs of aviation enthusiasts and other interested spectators. Jones said that 108 private plane owners managed to land at the airport before the noon deadline, when the airport was closed to all traffic -- except, of course, the guest of honor.
Jones said that while he was there he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, "It was a thrill to finally hear Steve on the radio calling in his runway preference, the same one we landed on," said Jones.
He added that, shortly before the plane landed, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and sponsor of the flight, came out of his Beech Starship and shook hands with some of the attendees.
"As the crowd pressed in to see Steve as he got out, Don and I headed for our plane for departure," said Jones.
Wood, a former air traffic controller, was impressed with the job the tower did in getting the planes out of the airport.
"We encountered a bit of mild turbulence and rain on the way back, but after passing through the front it was calm again and we counted ourselves fortunate indeed to have been present for one of the milestones of aviation history," said Jones.
According to an Associated Press report, Fossett was almost unable to finish the flight because he had nearly run out of fuel. While over the Pacific Ocean, with the aid of engineers at mission control who said he had the bare minimum required to complete the mission, he decided not to land in Hawaii and to press on to the finish.
According to the report, Fossett chose Salina because of its exceptionally long runway -- which was used to train bomber crews during World War II.
According to the official GlobalFlyer Web site -- www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com -- Fossett, who is 60, already holds 10 other records, including being the first person to complete a solo balloon trip around the world and the fastest flight ever in a non-supersonic airplane of 742.02 mph.
With these accomplishments, the millionaire adventurer has now become the first person to complete a solo flight around the Earth without stopping or refueling.