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Biplane in bid to recreate historic transatlantic flight
Last Updated Wed, 01 Jun 2005 16:23:11 EDT

CBC News

Two adventurers have left Toronto in a replica of a Vickers Vimy biplane, on their way to Newfoundland for an attempt later this month at re-enacting the first transatlantic flight.

Vickers Vimy biplane replica taxis and takes off in Toronto, Wednesday.

It's being piloted by Steve Fossett, the American adventurer who in March completed the first solo, nonstop flight around the world.

The original plane was made famous by British pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown, who flew it from Newfoundland to Ireland in slightly less than 16 hours in 1919.
Fossett and his American co-pilot and navigator Mark Rebholz are flying a replica of the two-engine biplane, which weighs six tonnes and has a wingspan of more than 20 metres.

Before leaving, Fossett said he thought the 3,154-km flight would be more difficult than his solo trip in the spring. He said the early design is hard to fly and requires both pilots' attention, especially on take-off and landing.

"This is a handful," Fossett told CBC News before taking off.

He and Rebholz aren't using modern navigational tools, instead relying on only a naval sextant and a compass.

For much of the journey to Ireland, they'll be flying only about 300 metres above the ocean's surface. As they near the coast and the plane gets lighter because it's used up much of the fuel, it may be able to climb to 3,000 metres, Fossett said.

They left the Toronto airport at 10:20 a.m. local time, heading to Ottawa for a brief stop before they carry on to St. John's, Nfld.

Depending on the weather, they hope to leave Newfoundland on June 14 – the anniversary of Alcock and Whitten Brown's flight.

They hope to land in Ireland about 18 hours later.

The original Vickers Vimy biplanes were bombers flown during the First World War. They were named after one of the greatest victories in Canadian military history – the 1917 battle of Vimy Ridge.

The replica biplane is built of wood, metal and fabric, just like the original. But instead of two Rolls Royce Eagle V-12 engines, it uses a pair of 8.4-litre Canadian-built Orenda V-8s.

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