Adventurers' trans-Atlantic flight hits snag

Updated: Sun. Jun. 26 2005 7:57 AM ET

Two American adventurers are facing another delay in their attempt to reproduce a landmark flight.

The alternator in the Vickers Vimy biplane of Steve Fossett and Mark Rebholz has developed a problem.
Replacing the unique part will take at least a few days.

While the weather might not be co-operative at that time, the two men says they are still committed to the flight.
The two pilots will attempt to fly their aircraft directly to Clifden, Ireland, following the route first flown nearly nine decades ago by John Alcock and Arthur Brown.

In 1919, the landmark journey became the first non-stop transatlantic flight in an open cockpit plane.

Fossett and Rebholz have been grounded in Newfoundland since June 9, holding out for good flying weather. They were to have taken off at 7 p.m. local time today.

It's estimated the 3,150-kilometre trip could take 22 hours to complete.

"This is a very slow airplane," Fossett said earlier in the month, appearing on CTV's Canada AM.

"So we will be flying about 130 kilometres an hour."

In contrast, Fossett made aviation history when he took less than 70 hours to circumnavigate the entire globe last March.

In addition to this distinction, Fossett also holds a number of other record-setting achievements, including the first round-the-world solo balloon flight.

But he has said this feat is more dangerous than his other achievements, because there is nowhere to stop in case of trouble.

"It's all water from St. John's to Clifden, Ireland. We're too far away from Greenland or Iceland to use them as an alternate. So we either have to make it all the way to Ireland or we have to turn back to St. John's," he said.

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