American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer (1944–2007)
Steve Fossett
Fossett in September 2002
Born
James Stephen Fossett
(1944-04-22)April 22, 1944
Jackson, Tennessee, U.S.
Died
September 3, 2007(2007-09-03) (aged 63)
Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, U.S.
Cause of death
Plane crash
Alma mater
Washington University in St. Louis (MBA) Stanford University (BA) Garden Grove High School
Known for
setting a large number of world records as an adventurer, sailor and aviator
Spouse
Peggy Viehland
James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraft. He made his fortune in the financial services industry and held world records for five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.
A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, Fossett set more than one hundred records[verification needed] in five different sports, sixty of which still stood at the time of his death. He broke three of the seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, all in his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.[1] In 2002, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club of the UK,[2] and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007.
Fossett disappeared on September 3, 2007, while flying a light aircraft over the Great Basin Desert, between Nevada and California. Fossett's plane was discovered wrecked in 2008.
^Cite error: The named reference RecordsFAI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Wilson, Sam; agencies (June 6, 2007). "Profile: Steve Fossett". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the...
second was expected to be named VMS Spirit of SteveFossett after Branson's close friend SteveFossett, who died in an aircraft accident in 2007. As of...
(registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which SteveFossett first flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in slightly...
John Francis Fossett (1922–2004), English clown SteveFossett (1944–2007), American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer 24654 Fossett, Mars-crossing...
fellow adventurer SteveFossett in September 2007; the following month he wrote an article for Time magazine, titled "My Friend, SteveFossett". In the late...
Pole). This feat has since been accomplished only one other time, by SteveFossett in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer (also designed by Rutan). For the...
FAI. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2018. Michel, Christian. "SteveFossett breaks airship speed record with Zeppelin NT". Modern Airships. Retrieved...
aircraft. Fossett's sole source of aid was a control center in Brookings Hall of Washington University in St. Louis. In 2005, SteveFossett, flying a...
musician Steve Foley (disambiguation), several people Steve Fonyo (1965–2022), Canadian runner Steve Forrest (born 1986), American musician SteveFossett (1944–2007)...
(gliders) designed to fly at extremely high altitudes. On 29 August 2006 SteveFossett and Einar Enevoldson, the pilots of Perlan Mission I, broke the existing...
solo non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world with adventurer SteveFossett as pilot. Reducing weight was critical to the design, and Rutan is quoted...
central wing. Two aircraft were planned – VMS Eve and VMS Spirit of SteveFossett. On May 22, 2021 Mothership Eve was used to carry VSS Unity to a launch...
Sully Sullenberger, and air, sea and land adventurer, SteveFossett. On Labor Day, 2007, Fossett took off from the Flying M Ranch and never returned, perishing...
lanyard in the tribal official red, white and blue craftstrip colors. The SteveFossett Spirit of Adventure Ranch (SOAR) was launched in Summer 2014. The camp...
on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-08-15. Fossett sets record for longest nonstop flight February 11, 2006 "Fossett sets solo flight record" Archived November...
15,460 m (50,722 feet) was set near El Calafate on 29 August 2006 by SteveFossett and Einar Enevoldson in their 'Perlan' high altitude research glider...
Sierra High Route. It is near the fatal 2007 airplane crash site of SteveFossett (Fossett's plane crashed north of the lake, near the Minaret Mine on Volcanic...
Newsletter No 129 Taipei to Hong Kong". www.sailspeedrecords.com. "SteveFossett Cheyenne Catamaran and the Jules Verne Trophy Around the World in 58...
SteveFossett, 2 July 2002, first solo balloon circumnavigation. Matevž Lenarčič; 2004; Circumnavigation with microlight aircraft Pipistrel". Steve Fossett...
to Join the Search for SteveFossett". Avweb.com. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 2011-11-28. "Official Mechanical Turk SteveFossett Results". 2007-09-24....
Hawkes and Hawkes Ocean Technologies (HOT). It was originally ordered by SteveFossett for an attempt on the Challenger Deep, to become the first solo dive...
set by SteveFossett with Fossett Plaza. The plaza has a memorial, seating area, plaques with the story of the Global Flyer and SteveFossett, and a viewing...
persons engaged in high-risk adventuring, such as incidents involving SteveFossett and Richard Branson. Discussing the scale of the search and rescue response...
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