Bird Strikes Appear To Have Caused Little Damage
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 02.09.06 1700EST: Steve Fossett is
now winging his way across the Atlantic towards Africa, after he
successfully took off early Wednesday morning for his Ultimate
Flight. All appears well... but we're now learning more about two
bird strikes that occurred as Fossett took off.
A number of birds were seen in the air as Fossett lifted off at
the 11,500-ft mark of Kennedy Space Center's 15,000' runway. Later,
two dead birds were discovered on the runway, and there was
some concern the bird strikes might have damaged the
plane.
Fortunately, GlobalFlyer team members Jon Karkow and Rob Scherer
were able to assess the situation from their Beech Starship chase
plane, and found that the aircraft had not experienced serious
damage.
"The most serious thing with a bird strike is that a large bird
is congested into the engine," said Karkow. "That could cause
damage which would mean it wouldn't be able to run. In this case
the birds appeared to hit the leading edge of the wing and perhaps
the nose of the boom tanks. These points are where the plane is
extra strong because that's where the skins overlap and there is
extra material."
There is a slight chance the birds may have cracked the plane's
skin, which could cause a fuel leak to develop when the aircraft
eventually lands. The GlobalFlyer team is monitoring the situation,
adding it doesn't expect that such a problem would impact the
actual global crossing.
ANN Real Time News: 0955 EST -- Millionaire-adventurer
Steve Fossett set out Wednesday morning on his journey around the
world and then some, hoping to pilot his Global Flyer farther than
any airplane or balloon has ever gone before.
Launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at
approximately 0730 EST, Fossett's fuel-laden Global Flyer lumbered
off the runway and turned east, headed for the open Atlantic
Ocean.
The take-off, tension-filled because of the Flyer's full-fuel
weight, used more runway than anticipated, said NASA manager Jim
Ball.
"The roll was longer than we anticipated but that's why he
wanted to use a 15,000-foot runway," he told the Associated
Press.
The Rutan-built composite aircraft hit two birds along the way,
but Ball said the aircraft wasn't damaged.
If successful, Fossett will fly 27,012 miles -- east across the
Atlantic to Africa, then across Asia and the Pacific and back
across the US. Over Georgia, Fossett will assess his condition
after almost 70 hours of constant solo flight, the condition of his
aircraft and his fuel state before deciding whether to cross the
Atlantic a second time. If he decides to go, he'll wind up in the
UK approximately 80 hours after beginning.