FYI...The Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer took off this evening from Salina KS. I was lucky enough to attend and ran into some other area RVers. If all goes well, the trip will conclude back in Salina on Thursday.
While the crowd was huddling under blankets and seeking refuge in hangars from the cold, conditions were perfect for takeoff....cool weather, 15 kts of wind pretty much straight down Salina's 12000+ ft runway. I haven't seen just how much of it the Global Flyer used but I would guess about 9000 ft. It was fun to hear his IFR clearance (Global Flyer 1 is cleared from Salina round robin to Salina....). While walking back to the car about 10 minutes after departure, I heard Fossett check in with KC Center climbing through 6500. Not bad for a plane with a fuel load comprising over 80% of it's takeoff weight! (that would mean about 800gal of fuel in an RV)!
While I've had a tough time getting on the website due to the undoubtably high volume of traffic, you can get updates at www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com.
Tom Chandler
RV4 N320WS
While the crowd was huddling under blankets and seeking refuge in hangars from the cold, conditions were perfect for takeoff....cool weather, 15 kts of wind pretty much straight down Salina's 12000+ ft runway. I haven't seen just how much of it the Global Flyer used but I would guess about 9000 ft. It was fun to hear his IFR clearance (Global Flyer 1 is cleared from Salina round robin to Salina....). While walking back to the car about 10 minutes after departure, I heard Fossett check in with KC Center climbing through 6500. Not bad for a plane with a fuel load comprising over 80% of it's takeoff weight! (that would mean about 800gal of fuel in an RV)!
While I've had a tough time getting on the website due to the undoubtably high volume of traffic, you can get updates at www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com.
Tom Chandler
RV4 N320WS