Fossett to recreate flight in Vimy replica

CTV.ca News Staff

It's only been a month since Steve Fossett finished the world's first solo, non-stop flight around the globe, and he's already getting ready for his next adventure.

The record-setting pilot and billionaire will attempt to recreate a historic feat: the first non-stop transatlantic flight in an open cockpit plane.

It was first achieved by British pilots John W. Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in 1919. They flew from St. John's, Newfoundland to Galway, Ireland.

Fossett will make the trip with co-pilot and navigator Mark Rebholz. They'll travel more than 3,150 kilometres across the North Atlantic in a Vimy replica aircraft.

"We're doing some final work on the airplane," Fossett told Canada AM Friday. "We're actually putting the engine cowlings on the airplane for the first time."

Fossett says he's expecting to begin the journey in the middle of June, depending on weather conditions. He also says he and Rebholz will be using traditional aviation instrumentation, and they've put their global positioning system (GPS) away.

"This is a very slow airplane," Fossett said. "So we will be flying about 130 kilometres an hour."

Fossett says this feat is a little more dangerous than his other achievements, because there's nowhere to stop in case of trouble.

"It's all water from St. John's to Clifton, 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."

Still, Fossett said the original aviators made it, despite running into their own difficulties with bad weather, icing and visibility problems. "It was a very difficult flight for them from an endurance standpoint."

Fossett says he's excited about the journey, especially because he'll be flying an authentic Vimy.

"The airframe itself was contructed exactly the same way, using the same materials as the original Vimy in 1919," he said.

"It flies just like what they had to deal with. So, it's a fascinating project for me and my co-pilot."

Fossett said the airplane will be moved from Ottawa to St. John's on Sunday or Monday.