![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/globalll.jpg\")
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.
\n – Outsiders look at the GlobalFlyer, a single-seat airplane designed
\n to make the first solo, nonstop, unrefueled
\n flight around the world, and wonder how a pilot could function for
\n 70 hours in a cigar-shaped cabin so snug he cannot even get out of
\n his seat.<\/p>\n
Technicians at Scaled Composites, the company that built the plane, like to
\n call it the Flying Fuel Tank. At takeoff – on Jan. 4 or as soon thereafter
\n as the weather permits – it will weigh as much as a 50-seat commuter plane.
\n If it is successful, it will land nearly three days later weighing less than
\n a medium-size S.U.V.<\/p>\n
On a recent test flight here it did not so much take off like a jet (which
\n technically it is) as glide into the sky. Fully loaded, it will need more than
\n two miles of runway to lift off.<\/p>\n
The GlobalFlyer is first of all a feat of engineering – building a plane strong
\n enough to climb into the sky with so much fuel and efficient enough to fly
\n almost 20,000 miles without refueling. It is also a test of the pilot’s skill
\n and of human endurance.<\/p>\n
article from the EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Outsiders look at the GlobalFlyer, a single-seat airplane designed to make the first solo, nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world, and wonder how a pilot could function for 70 hours in a cigar-shaped cabin … Continue reading
\n New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"