Endurance sports have an appeal that many other sports cannot match. This explains why many common people take up running, cycling and swimming to achieve their goals and achieve more on a daily basis. Some people combine all three disciplines and try an Ironman triathlon.
When this interest becomes more powerful, an individual can become a record-breaking adventurer. American businessman Steve Fossett was one such person, and went on to set hundreds of records in aviation and navigation.
Fossett was born on April 22, 1944 in Jackson, Tennessee, USA, and raised in California. He studied economics and philosophy at Stanford University and earned his MBA at the University of Washington before becoming a successful commodity broker.
“To make up one's mind”
Fossett was drawn to endurance sports because he believed it was something anyone could do. He knew that it required “proper planning and training,” but was also sure that it was not entirely “dependent on coordination and skill.”In an interview with smithsonian magazinehe added, “I've grown up in endurance sports because all I have to do is make the decision to do it.”
And he made up his mind again and again. Fossett first came to public attention in the 1990s with his highly publicized attempt to become the first person to circumnavigate the world solo in a balloon. He failed in five attempts, but finally succeeded in 2002 with a balloon called “Spirit of Freedom.”
Global Flyer vs Voyager
In 2005, Fossett became the first person to fly solo around the world without refueling. He did this on his Virgin Atlantic Airlines GlobalFlyer aircraft, which was manufactured by Rutan's Scaled Composites. It was also the company that built Voyager, the first aircraft to fly around the world without refueling, in 1986.
However, there were significant differences between GlobalFlyer and Voyager, so that's where the similarities end. Voyager was built for her two-person crew, while Global Flyer was designed to be her one-person crew. The Global Flyer, a turbofan-powered airplane, allowed Fossett to accomplish this feat in less than three days. This was a much shorter itinerary compared to his nine days required by Voyager.
Mr. Fossett took off from Salina, Kansas, on February 28, 2005, in a specialized plane with 13 fuel tanks and a 2-meter cockpit. The plane was also made of strong but lightweight materials to withstand jet stream impacts and deal with severe impacts. High fuel load (initially fuel accounted for 86% of his total weight).
Not without problems
However, the flight was not without its problems, with some stumbles in the first few hours itself. While the GPS navigation system failed, the plane also mysteriously lost 2,600 pounds of fuel. The latter meant that without a favorable jet stream for Fossett to return to orbit, he might have had to land short of his destination, potentially missing out on the record. At the end of 67 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds, Fossett returned to Salina, completing a historic journey of over 30,000 kilometers and becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world solo without refueling.
Even as technological advances made flight possible, the human spirit was just as important, whether it was physical effort or mental resistance. Fossett completed the voyage surviving on water and diet chocolate milkshakes (he drank 12 during the three-day voyage). There was indeed no toilet in the 2 meter cockpit, so I had to urinate in a bottle. As the only person on board, it also meant that he was in his cockpit the whole time, getting little sleep other than the occasional two-minute nap.
learn from everyone
In addition to embracing technology and the idea of endurance sports, Fossett was successful in the fields of aviation and sailing, racking up hundreds of records because he surrounded himself with the best people in the field when trying to accomplish something. was able to be established. He meticulously planned his projects, left no details to chance, and learned from those around him.
However, Fossett died while on a reconnaissance mission in western Nevada, presumably for another adventure. He was reported missing on September 3, 2007, after his single-engine plane went missing and a massive search operation was organized. However, these efforts were unsuccessful due to the region's remoteness and rugged terrain. Mr. Fossett was pronounced dead in a Chicago courtroom on February 15, 2008. In October, plane wreckage and what appeared to be his remains were discovered, and DNA analysis confirmed that the bones were those of Fossett.
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