Salina, Kan. (May 22, 2006)
The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, with pilot Steve
Fossett at the airplane’s controls, will depart
tomorrow from the Salina Municipal Airport for the
last time.
Destination for the GlobalFlyer’s final flight is the
Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space
Museum, repository for the world’s most famous
aircraft. The GlobalFlyer will reside in the
Smithsonian’s companion facility, the Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles
International Airport.
The flight is scheduled for a 7:30 a.m. departure
tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23, 2006.
“The Salina Airport Authority is honored to have been
a part of the history and accomplishments of this
legendary aircraft and pilot,” said Executive Director
Tim Rogers, A.A.E. “We have been able to
demonstrate to the world our community’s global
aerospace capabilities and a part of our community
will rest with the GlobalFlyer in the Smithsonian,” he
added.
The National Air and Space Museum acquires an
aircraft in which adventurer Steve Fossett became
the first person to fly an airplane solo, nonstop
around the globe without refueling and which holds
the aviation long-distance record. Until it is
displayed in the museum, the public will be able to
observe the GlobalFlyer on the Udvar-Hazy grounds
from certain vantage points at the center.
Between Feb. 28 and March 3, 2005, Fossett became
the first person to fly an airplane nonstop, solo,
around the world without refueling when he landed
his GlobalFlyer in Salina, 67 hours, one minute and 10
seconds after take-off from Salina. He also set an
absolute around-the-world speed record of 342.2
mph while flying 22,936 statute miles.
One year later, between Feb. 8 and 11, Fossett
piloted the airplane to a nonstop, non-refueled
distance record of 25,766 statute miles, flying from
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, around the
world and landing in Bournemouth, England, after
flying for 76 hours, 42 minutes and 55 seconds.
The next month, between March 14 and 17, he was
back in Salina from where he set a closed-course
distance record by flying the GlobalFlyer 25,302
statute miles in 74 hours and 36 minutes and 26
seconds.
“Pushed to their limits, Steve Fossett and GlobalFlyer
charted some of the few remaining frontiers of
flight,” National Air and Space Museum Director Gen.
J.R. “Jack” Dailey said. “We’re proud to welcome this
remarkable machine into the national collection.” The
museum also is acquiring Global Flyer’s Williams
turbofan engine, which was a key to the success of
the airplane.
The aircraft eventually will hang amid the general
aviation collection in the Udvar-Hazy Center’s Boeing
Aviation Hangar. The engine will be displayed at floor
level. The aircraft and the engine will be formally
accessioned into the national collection in June. The
Udvar-Hazy Center currently is home to 126 aircraft
and 142 large space artifacts.
For the Smithsonian’s press release go to:
National Air and Space Museum Press Release
Media wishing to cover the final flight of the Virgin
Atlantic GlobalFlyer, should arrive at Hangar No. 509
at the Salina Municipal Airport (2734 Arnold Ct.)
between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.
In addition to Steve Fossett and the Virgin Atlantic
GlobalFlyer, the Salina Municipal Airport is home base
for numerous aviation businesses and operations.
These include America Jet, Aerospace Systems &
Technologies, Inc., EagleMed air ambulance, Kansas
Wing Headquarters – Civil Air Patrol, Flower Aviation,
Kansas Army National Guard Aviation Support Facility,
Kansas State University Salina College of Technology
and Aviation, Kansas Highway Patrol Aviation,
Professional Flight Training, LC, Raytheon Aircraft
Company – Salina Division, Salina Aircraft Services,
Wells Aircraft, Inc., and the corporate flight
departments for ADM Milling Company, Blue Beacon
International, Geoprobe Systems, Pepsi Cola – Salina,
Plains Environmental, Premier Pneumatics, Inc., and
Bradley Trucking Co.
The SLN Aviation Service Center has available hangar
space and room for growth to accommodate a wide
array of aviation related industries. The SLN Air
Traffic Control Tower logs more than 86,000 annual
aircraft operations. Two FBOs annually deliver over 4
million gallons of aviation fuel to the aircraft using
the Salina Municipal Airport. For more information
regarding expansion opportunities at “The SLN
Aviation Service Center,” contact us at
785.827.3914 or visit the available properties link at
www.salinaairport.com
