Fossett makes history

Adventurer Steve Fossett climbs out of the cockpit on the runway at Salina, Kansas. The final figures are in for Fossett's epic solo flight around the world and the American aviator will make it into the record books with just miles to spare(AFP/Carl de Souza)

Flying from horizon to horizon, Steve Fossett completed the first nonstop, flight 'round-the-world without refueling on Thursday afternoon, landing gracefully in Kansas at 2:49 pm ET.

A cheering crowd gathered to usher the GlobalFlyer and its 60-year-old pilot into the record books, something that has become almost routine for Fossett in recent years. The aviator now holds three record-breaking circumnavigations of the globe, the two others by balloon and sailboat.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," Fossett said as he stepped out of the plane, his legs wobbly after nearly three days in the cockpit. "It has been a major ambition of mine."

The sometimes tense journey across three oceans and dozens of countries began in Salina, Kansas, on Monday evening. The 25,000-mile (40,234 kilometer) voyage took 67 hours and two minutes. It was financed by Fossett's longtime friend and investor, Richard Branson, who heads Virgin Atlantic Airways.

As GlobalFlyer approached the airport, Fossett deployed small parachutes to slow the craft down.

After touching down smoothly, Fossett taxied the plane toward a hangar and Branson waved a black-and-white checkered flag as the jet came to a stop. Fossett's flight team opened a bottle of champagne onto the runway.

GlobalFlyer was built by Scaled Composites, the same firm that designed and launched the world's first civilian manned spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, last year.

Burt Rutan, aerospace engineer and head of Scaled Composites, said the plane, and the pilot, performed admirably.

Despite the successful homecoming, the GlobalFlyer encountered dark moments during its flight.

At one point, controllers thought the plane would run out of fuel far short of its target. Fossett and the GlobalFlyer team considered abandoning the trip when they were over Hawaii on Wednesday because the experimental plane came up about 2,600 pounds of fuel short after taking off. The jet burns 102 pounds of fuel per hour. The team speculated that fuel was vented from four tanks shortly after takeoff.

Fossett decided to press on because of favorable tail winds.

"If I have engine trouble, there will be no trouble with gliding," Fossett had said earlier in the day before landing.

When more data arrived from the aircraft, projections showed the fuel would propel the aircraft throughout its entire 25,000-mile trip.liuxuepaper.com