Virgin Atlantic is targeting November or December for Steve Fosset's world record circumnavigation attempt with the Scaled Composites-developed GlobalFlyer aircraft. Flight testing began last month with a 1h 30min maiden flight from Scaled Composites' Mojave, California base, flown by project engineer Jon Karkow. The aircraft climbed to 12,000ft (3,700m) and underwent stability tests from near stall (54kt/100km/h) to an airspeed of 110kt. The landing gear was retracted and extended and the descent and landing drag parachutes were deployed to slow the aircraft for landing
Source: Flight International
