Heard that a fuel cell was leaking... When they began using it for fuel, that allowed it to leak faster, until they had emptied it...For - Real Wings - You can wear - Just a bit smaller than the Logo ... Just Fly Anything from a C172 to B777 or others for Freedom Air. For More Info Click Link: http://groups.msn.com/FreedomAirINFO/_whatsnew.msnwhttp://forums.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_f...f1020e57f58.jpg

With HUGE respect for Mr. Fossett's achievement and through no fault of his own, most news accounts of the mission were misstated.The above AP quote was correct in referring to the vehicle as an "airplane" which, by definition, is a fixed wing aircraft.But many reports, including those by AP announcing the completion of the mission, referred to the vehicle as an "aircraft" which, according to Webster is essentially ANY vehicle used to travel through the air. (see definition below)Using "aircraft" in the definition means that Uri Gagarin, and not Mr. Fossett holds the record which Gagarin achieved in 1961. While Gagarin's vehicle traveled a portion of its mission in space where there is no "air" he certainly DID travel through the "air" during his departure and return and therefore MUST have been in an "aircraft."I sent an e-mail to the AP shortly after reading one of its incorrect reports and the next day a friend e-mailed me an article from a Florida newspaper...under the Associated Press byline cautioning that care must be taken when citing the Fossett mission to restrict it to "fixed wing airplanes."Of course, they didn't attribute the correction to me!!(:JimPS: I won a BUNCH of bets on this. (:<<: a vehicle (as an airplane or balloon) for traveling through the air >>NOTE: "as in" means "for example" and the definition is NOT restricted to those two vehicles.

hmmm...And had you read the actual record attempt and the certifying agencies website, maybe you would realize this particular potential record of Fossett's is in a totally different class than Gagarin's flight into space.And what the press reports is irrelevant since only the certifying agency is the deciding factor here, not webster ,his dictionary, or an ignorant press. :-lol :-lolFossett has potentially completed a record attempt certified by the renown agency FAI (F