Ultimate Flight Still On!

After getting slightly banged up in a ground incident last week, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer is expected to fly to Kennedy Space Center, FL on Thursday, January 12 -- six days later than originally planned.

Sources at NASA tell Aero-News the GlobalFlyer will arrive at KSC at 4 pm EST Thursday, barring any unforeseen circumstances -- which could almost be the unofficial theme for the nevertheless highly successful program.

As was reported in Aero-News, the original cross-country flight to KSC (a relative hop around the pattern for the long-legged GlobalFlyer) was sidelined last week after the aircraft collided with a fuel truck prior to a test flight. At the time, the extent of the damage was unknown.

The aircraft will be piloted by Steve Fossett, and is being relocated from Salina, KS, to Kennedy's Space Shuttle Landing Facility to begin preparations for an attempt to set a new world record for the longest flight made by any aircraft. An exact takeoff date for the Ultimate Flight has not been determined, and is contingent on weather and jet-stream conditions.

The window for the attempt opens in mid-January -- making the flight possible anytime between then and the end of February.

NASA agreed to let Virgin Atlantic Airways use Kennedy's Space Shuttle Landing Facility as a takeoff site. The facility use is part of a pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA activities.

FMI: www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com, www.nasa.gov/home