Steve Fossett

3. august 2010 18:42

By Tom Jules

Steve Fossett is one of the most famous adventurers in the world. He has made well over 100 world records of which almost half are still standing. Many of his records he made while flying balloons, airship and powered aircrafts. In addition he holds several gliding records.

 
Photo by Joshua Yurman
 

Name: Steve Fossett

Nationality: United States

Born: 22nd of April, 1944

Place of Birth: Jackson, Tennessee, USA

Died: 3rd of September, 2007, California

Education: Economics from Stanford, MBA from Olin School of Business

Spouse: Peggy Fossett

 

Steve Fossett is born in Tennessee in 1944, but moved soon to California where he grew up. Fossett always had interest is rock climbing and other extreme sport. He joined the boy scouts at early age which was the perfect place to participate in rock climbing and other adventure sports. In 1966, Steve received a B.S. degree in economics from Stanford University and 2 years later he received an MBA degree from Olin School of Business at Washington University. After graduation he began working as a commodities trader at the Chicago Exchange where he worked for several years. But, Fossett eventually made his fortune renting exchange membership to floor traders.

 

Steve Fossett has made several world records flying balloons, gliders and powered aircrafts which has made him one of the most recognized aviators in the world. In addition to his aviation records, he also holds several sailing records and was an avid rock climber. Fossett completed the Ironman challenge, in addition to several cross-country ski marathons.

 

In 2005, Fossett was the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop. He departed Salina, Kansas, on February 28th in front of 8,000 spectators and returned 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 seconds later to that exact location. The flight was made in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, sponsored by Richard Branson´s airline, Virgin Atlantic. The distance Fossett flew was 41,467 km (25,766 mi)

 

Steve Fossett was the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon, nonstop. Fossett departed Northam, Australia, 19th of June, 2002 and landed in Queensland 3rd of July. It took Fossett 14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to fly the 33,195 km (20,626 mi) in his 10 story high balloon.

 

Fossett is one of only few persons in the world that is certified flying a Zeppelin. Fossett set a speed record in 2004 when he flew an airship at 115.0 km/h (71.5 mph, 62.2 knots).

 

On September 3rd, 2007, Fossett departed the private airstrip Flying-M Ranch, Nevada on Champion Super Decathlon aircraft. He had enough fuel for about 4-5 hour flight so when there hadn´t been any contact from Fossett for 6 hours, a search was initiated. The search area was almost 20,000 square miles of some of the toughest terrain in the US. The search was carried out by hundreds of people and while the search was being made for Fossett´s aircraft, 12 old wreckages were found. Some thought to be over 10 years old. In the beginning of October, search and rescue efforts by the government were called off. In October, 2008, a year after his disappearance, Fossett´s identification cards were found in Madera County, California by hikers travelling through the area. The wreckage was found close by, but the remains of Fossett have not yet been found. It is assumed that Fossett´s remains were dragged from the wreckage by animals.
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