Fossett items possibly found

[r_willy]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,431307,00.html

[First time Juke]

Re: Fossett plane wreckage possibly found

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/10/02/steve.fossett.search/index.html

[GeoffS]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2008/081002.html

[r_willy]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FOSSETT_SEARCH?SITE=ORBEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[SkyvanDelta]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

In 2006 Fossett had purchased Craig Breedloves jet powered car, The Spirit of America. I wonder what will happen to the car? I'd like to own it. Museum quality piece of machinery.

I met Craig Breedloves staff and asked them how do they get it up to speed. They said due to limited space, you throttle it up full and hold on, and back off only if things are blowing up, then hit the parachutes and brakes and pray everything works as planned. You don't have time to cruise around and see how things are running. Land Speed Records is a very dangerous pursuit but what a thrill.

I was hoping that Fossets car would beat the Thrust SSC record of 763mph and continue the exchaning/breaking of the Land Speed Records.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust_ssc

Here is the article in text or go to the bottom of the page here and read the story.

http://www.stevefossett.com/index.html

STEVE FOSSETT'S JET-POWERED LAND SPEED RECORD CHALLENGER NEARS COMPLETION AT NEVADA BASE
First 2007 Tests Planned at Bonneville Salt Flats Late August
Speed Season Expected to Continue through September and October
11 July 2007 - Sparks, Nevada, USA: Record breaking American aviator and adventurer Steve Fossett's attack on the absolute land speed record will begin later this summer at the fabled Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with initial tests commencing late August. The current record of 763 mph was set in 1997 by Britain's Andy Green in Richard Noble’s 'Thrust SSC'. Steve's initial low-speed shakedown runs in August are planned to validate stability, handling, and safety systems starting at 200 mph; further runs in September and October will be used to expand the envelope towards much higher speeds - and to mount an assault on the absolute land speed record.
The S&S LM-1500 turbojet powered racer is nearing completion at Fossett's Sparks, NV (near Reno) workshops where Steve's 'Target 800 MPH' team under project director Eric Ahlstrom has been hard at work since September 2006. The car started life in the early 1990's as the third of LSR legend Craig Breedlove's 'Spirit of America' series challengers - originally designed to break Noble's 1982 record of 633 mph. Fossett purchased the project from Breedlove in mid-2006. Numerous changes have been implemented since the car's last runs in 1997, including a lengthened wheelbase and widened rear track to improve stability, this requiring major upgrades to the primary structures.

© Project 100 / Marathon Racing Inc 2006 - used with permissionTo accommodate the higher speeds and aerodynamic stresses of 800+ mph, significant aero modifications have been made to the rear body and wheel fairings to reduce drag. The engine inlets have been re-designed to increase engine performance and safety, and the steering geometry has been modified to eliminate the roll and yaw instability which caused an accident in 1996. All-new systems for 2007 include supersonic-capable parachutes, electronic engine monitoring and controls plus revised suspension, electrical and pneumatic systems. Further improvements planned for 2008 include water injection, afterburner and nozzle modifications to increase supersonic thrust.

The LSR is about much more than the car itself, and Fossett's team members have been hard at work on all of the daunting logistics of LSR competition. An 11 mile course has been laid out and smoothed for the unprecedented speeds, and will be extended to 12 miles for an 800 mph record run.

Project Director Eric Ahlstrom explains:

“We have a lot of new systems and it’s going to take time and coordinated effort to make sure we are safe to run at high speeds. We have to be sure that the car runs safely, and that we can do a fast turn-around. An FIA record is the average of two runs through the mile in opposite directions within one hour. That means our crew has to hook up, turn, reposition, refuel, service pneumatics, remove salt from the wheels, reload parachutes, start and launch a 9,000 lb jet car in less than an hour. Our logistics group has given us a great course and the BLM has been very helpful in working with the other racing users at Bonneville. Help from Denis Manning and the BUB organization has been invaluable to our course work and we are very grateful to be running on shared permits in August, September and October with both BUB and the SCTA. Due to our use of solid carbon tires and a skid brake on a 9,000 lb car, we have prepared a parallel international course separate from all of the other LSR teams and events so we don’t damage their courses.”

Driver Steve Fossett:

"It has been a long haul - and a year of tremendous work. Of course, I am anxious to get behind the wheel - and to get up to speed as quickly as we can, but we plan to be patient. Early runs will be systems checks and will use neither afterburner nor water injection, so we will start at about 200 mph and then progress up to 600 mph. In September we will install our 'phase 2' engine with 18,000 lbs of thrust. Then we will really be able to explore some speed..."

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

I've heard and read various reports that would indicate that Steve did not survive the initial impact. I know from personal experience, having lost a relative in an incident that happened in the wild, there usually is very little clue left to true identity of whatever remains there might be..

I know Mr. Fossett was declared legally dead some time ago but still would like to express my sympathy and support to those who knew him and loved him.

We've lost one of the great people of our time and those people are damn few and far between...

Wayne

[Reno_Steve]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

People should try for the LSR in Australia as there are larger areas of salt available than in the USA.
There is the problem of occasional rains which can ruin the salt, but this is the place where the records will be set in the future.

[Victor Archer]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

I've heard and read various reports that would indicate that Steve did not survive the initial impact. I know from personal experience, having lost a relative in an incident that happened in the wild, there usually is very little clue left to true identity of whatever remains there might be..

I know Mr. Fossett was declared legally dead some time ago but still would like to express my sympathy and support to those who knew him and loved him.

We've lost one of the great people of our time and those people are damn few and far between...

Wayne

I can't believe someone with his skills flying into the side of a mountain. Until they find his skull I think he is somewhere in the Caribbean drinking rum!

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

I can't believe someone with his skills flying into the side of a mountain. Until they find his skull I think he is somewhere in the Caribbean drinking rum!

As much as I also hate to belive it.. and from my experience, losing a relative in the wild... there probably will be no really telling... evidence that, indeed, Steve perished in the crash..

As for the how, one report I read said there were T-Storms in the area.. and that some of the peaks were obscured..

When I go, if it could be doing something really fun in a clear beautiful sky with clouds around, soaring and totally free and in a moment, I'm enveloped in a cool mist and then in less than an instant, I'm gone. I will leave this place completely satisfied and will have been blessed with quick passage.

Wayne

[dvddude]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

I can't believe someone with his skills flying into the side of a mountain. Until they find his skull I think he is somewhere in the Caribbean drinking rum!

Not to diminish Mr. Fossett's flying skills, but really anything can happen when flying a light airplane in the mountains. Mountain flying can be very dangerous, and lots of things could have happened. He could have unexpectedly run into a fog bank or scud layer when "rounding" a mountain and have been "trapped in the corner" with no way out. He could have hit severe mountain wave turbulence or a severe downdraft which could have pushed his plane into the mountain, exceeding his climb ability. He could have been incapcitated somehow - heart attack, brain aneurysm, hypoxia, etc.

I don't believe it was CFIT, but he could have inadvertently hit the mountain due to circumstances beyond his control.

Don't think someone of his caliber can run into a mountain, well think again. Unfortunately, we lost a highly skilled Unlimited race pilot due to flying in poor weather conditions around mountainous terrain. Also recall, that Frank Tallman got killed when he flew into the side of a mountain. Complacency can kill, especially when you've risen to the level that Mr. Fossett has. I'm not saying he was complacent, but the threat is always there.

I can believe he ran into the side of a mountain, albeit, I'll bet it was not due to poor pilot skills, that's for sure.

[First time Juke]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

When I go, if it could be doing something really fun in a clear beautiful sky with clouds around, soaring and totally free and in a moment, I'm enveloped in a cool mist and then in less than an instant, I'm gone. I will leave this place completely satisfied and will have been blessed with quick passage.

Wayne

Amen to that Wayne !

I hope they'll put up a memorial there for all those aviators who lost lives on those mountains..I bet the list is long.

[MRussell]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

I can't believe someone with his skills flying into the side of a mountain. Until they find his skull I think he is somewhere in the Caribbean drinking rum!

Believe it. Far better pilots than Fossett have augered in for dumb reasons.

[Lockheed Bob]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

Blue Skies Forever Mr.Fossett.At least you left several aviation records in the world for all to beat.

[Peashooter]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

Mine's safe!

[wyhdah]

Re: Fossett items possibly found

Better watch out peas posting that might make someone gun for it.