- Home
- The Boat
- The Crew
- Records
- Media Info
- Archives
- Virgin GlobalFlyer
- Gliding
- Aviation
- Links
- Contact
Records
UPDATED: 8 July 2006
STEVE FOSSETT
FOR THE RECORD
Steve Fossett is among the world's greatest adventurers - and in his career he has set 115 new world records or world firsts, holding current official World Records in 5 sports.
Between February 2005 and March 2006 Steve achieved the First Solo non-stop Round the World airplane flight, a follow-up 'Ultimate Flight' of over 41,000 kms, thus setting the record for the longest non-stop flight in aviation history plus a further world record RTW flight for absolute closed circuit distance (all in Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer). These three extraordinary airplane flights plus his First Solo balloon flight Round the World on Bud Light Spirit of Freedom (2002) were all milestones in aviation history.
Additionally, during the solo, non-stop Round the World balloon flight Steve also covered 3,186 miles in a single 24 hour period - and hit a top speed of 200 miles per hour - flying faster than anyone ever had by manned balloon. On previous global attempts Steve achieved the first balloon crossing of the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, and the first ocean crossings of the South Atlantic, South Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Steve Fossett is also the most successful Speed Sailor in the history of Sailing. His 2004 Round the World Record of 58 days 9 hours and 2001 TransAtlantic Record of 4 days 17 hours (both now superceded) were dramatic improvements over the previous records. Between 1993 and 2004 Fossett set 23 official world records in sailing (including 2 single-handed records), 11 of which still stand.
In gliders Steve achieved the first 1500 Kilometer Triangle flight and the first 2000 Kilometer Out-and-Return flight. In the last 3 years he has set 10 of the 21 Glider Open World Records.
Steve also holds Round the World records for medium weight airplanes (in both directions) as well as the U.S. transcontinental records for non-supersonic airplanes and unlimited turboprops. And in October 2004 Steve set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships!
In addition, he has completed premier endurance sports events including the Iditarod, Ironman Triathlon, and the English Channel swim.
| AIRPLANES | |
| Solo Non-Stop Round the World | |
|
First Solo Non-Stop Airplane Flight RTW Absolute Non-Stop RTW Speed Record |
Salina, KS, USA to Salina, KS, USA 67 Hours, 1 minute, 10 secs 342.2 mph (550.7 kph) 22,936 statute miles (36,912.68 kms) February 28 -March 3, 2005 |
|
Longest Distance Aircraft Flight Absolute Non-Stop Distance Record |
NASA Kennedy Space Center to Bournemouth, England 76 hours 42 minutes 55 seconds 25,766 miles (41,467km) February 8-11, 2006 |
|
Closed Circuit Distance Absolute Closed Circuit DistanceRecord |
Salina, Kansas, USA to Salina, Kansas, USA 25,294 miles (40,707 km) March 14-17, 2006 |
| U.S. Transcontinental Records | |
| West to East (non-supersonic) San Diego to Charleston SC Superceded Fossett's San Francisco to New York record of 693.14 mph, 6 April 2000 |
2 hours, 56 minutes, 20 seconds 726.83 mph (1169.73 km/h) 5 February 2003 |
| East to West (non-supersonic) Jacksonville to San Diego |
3 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds 591.96 mph (952.67 km/h) 17 September 2000 |
| Turboprop (unlimited) San Diego to Charleston SC Joe Ritchie as PIC in a Piaggio |
3 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds 546.44 mph (879.46 km/h) 5 February 2003 |
| Round The World Records (medium airplane - H-Class) | |
| Eastbound | 559.89 mph (901.07 km/h) 16 February 2000 |
| Westbound | 500.56 mph (805.59) 24 November 2000 |
| Other Airplane World Records | |
| Perth to Hobart, Australia (Unlimited) | Fastest world record by non-supersonic airplane 742.02 mph (1,194.17 km/h) 30 July 2001 |
| Perth to Brisbane, Australia (Unlimited) | Australia Transcontinental Record 705.06 mph (1,134.69 km/h) 28 July 2001 |
| Goose Bay to Berlin (Unlimited) | TransAtlantic Record/non-supersonic airplanes 649.93 mph (1,045.97 km/h) 8 October 2003 |
| 5000 Km Speed Record (H-Class) | 572.29 mph (921.02 km/h) 14 July 2000 |
| 2000 Km Speed Record (H-Class) | 598.26 mph (962.81 km/h) 26 November 1999 |
| Los Angeles to Honolulu (Unlimited) | 4 hours, 11 minutes, 5 seconds 609.84 mph (981.44 km/h) 23 March 2000 |
| BALLOONING | |
| 6 Solo Round The World Attempts | |
| First Solo Balloon Flight RTW Absolute RTW Speed Record |
Northam, Western Australia to Queensland, Australia 13 days 8 hours 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km) 19 June to 4 July 2002 |
| 24 Hour Record (Speed) | 3,186.80 statute miles (5,128.65 km) 30 June to 1 July 2002 |
| Fifth Solo RTW attempt | Northam, Australia to Bagé, Brazil. 12 days 12 hours 57 minutes 5 to 17 August 2001 |
| Fourth Solo RTW attempt Absolute World Distance Record* |
Mendoza, Argentina to the Coral Sea 14,235.33 statute miles (22,910 km) 7 to 16 August 1998 |
| Third Solo RTW attempt |
St. Louis, Missouri to Grechanaya, Russia 5,802.94 statute miles 1 to 5 January 1998 |
| Second Solo RTW attempt Absolute World Distance Record* Absolute World Duration Record* |
St. Louis, Missouri to Sultanpur, India 10,360.61 status miles 6 days 2 hours 44 minutes 13 to 20 January 1997 |
| First Solo RTW attempt | Stratobowl, South Dakota to St. John, Canada,
approx. 2,200 status miles 8 to 11 January 1996 |
| Other Major Balloon Flights | |
| First Solo Flight Across Pacific Absolute World Distance Record* |
Seoul, Korea to Mendam, Saskatchewan 5,435.82 statute miles 17 to 21 February 1995 |
| ICO Global RTW attempt Co-pilot with Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand |
Marrakech, Morocco to Hawaii 12,403.07 statute
miles 16 to 25 December 1998 |
| TransAtlantic Flight Tim Cole as Co-pilot |
St. John's, Canada to Hamburg, Germany 18 to 21 August 1994 |
| GLIDER RECORDS | |
| 10 World Records | |
| Distance (Free) World Record Terry Delore (NZL), PIC |
2192.9 km 4 December 2004 |
| Triangle Distance (Free) World Record Terry Delore (NZL), Co-pilot |
1509,7 km 13 December 2003 |
| Out and Return Distance (Free) World Record* Terry Delore (NZL), PIC |
2002,44 km 14 November 2003 |
| 1500 Kilometer Triangle World Record Terry Delore (NZL), Co-pilot |
119.11 km/h (74.02 mph) 13 December 2003 |
| 1250 Kilometer Triangle Terrly Delore(NZL), Copilot U.S.National Record |
143,48 km/h (89.51 mph) Exceeded world record by .01 km/h 30 July 2003 |
| 750 Kilometer Triangle World Record Terry Delore(NZL), Co-pilot |
171,29 km/h(106,44 mph) 29 July 2003 |
| 500 Kilometer Triangle World Record* Terry Delore (NZL) as Co-pilot |
187.12 km/h (116.27 mph) 15 November 2003 |
| 1000 Km Out-and-Return World Record* Terry Delore (NZL), PIC |
166.46 km/h (103,44 mph) 12 December 2002 |
| 1500 Out-and-Return World Record* Terry Delore (NZL), PIC |
156.61 km/h (97.30 mph) 14 November 2003 |
| Triangle Distance (Declared) World Record Terry Delore (NZL), Co-pilot |
1502,6 km 13 December 2003 |
| Out-and-Return Distance (Declared) World Record* Terry Delore (NZL), Co-pilot |
1804,7 km 14 November 2003 |
| AIRSHIPS | |
| Absolute Airship Speed Record Zeppelin NT |
Friedrichshafen, Germany 60.4 knots (111.8 km/h) 27 October 2004 |
| SAILING | |
| 21 Outright World Records | |
| Round The World * Broke previous record by 6 days |
58 days 9 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds 15. 52 knots 7 February to 5 April 2004 |
| TransAtlantic * New York to England |
4 days 17 hours 28 minutes 6 seconds 25.78 knots (47.75 km/h) 5 to 10 October 2001 |
| Indian Ocean * Cape of Good Hope to Tasmania |
9 days 20 hours 29 minutes 45 seconds 25 February to 6 March 2004 |
| Cadiz to San Salvador Transatlantic - Columbus Route East to West TransAt |
9 days 13 hours 31 mins 18 secs 16.92 knot 15 to 24 February 2003 |
| Round Britain & Ireland | 4 days, 16 hours, 9 mins, 36 secs 15.93 knots 20 to 25 October 2002 |
| TransMediterranean * (Marseille-Carthage) 24.38 knots |
18 hours 46 minutes 48 seconds May 23-24, 2002 |
| Plymouth to LaRochelle | 16 hours 41 minutes 40 seconds 21.28 knots 9 April 2002 |
| Round Isle of Wight | 2 hours 33 minutes 55 seconds 19.53 knots 9 November 2001 |
| Miami to New York | 53 hours 54 minutes 42 seconds 17.57 knots 20 to 22 May 2001 |
| Fastnet Course | 35 hours 17 minutes 14 seconds 17.14 knots 15 to 17 March 2002 |
| Newport to Bermuda | 38 hours 35 minutes 53 seconds 16.45 knots 12 to 14 January 2000 |
| Round Ireland | 44 hours 42 minutes 15.84 knots 8 to 9 September 1993 |
| Hawaii to Japan | 13 days 20 hours 9 minutes 22 seconds 11.29 knots 22 July to 4 August 1995 |
| Pacific Ocean East to West San Francisco to Yokohama |
19 days 15 hours 18 minutes 9 seconds 9.51 knots 3 to 23 May 1996 |
| Plus 7 Superceded Records | |
| 3 Singlehanded Records | |
| Pacific Ocean Yokohama to San Francisco |
20 days 9 hours 52 minutes 5 to 24 August 1996 |
| Newport to Bermuda | 40 hours 51 minutes 54 seconds June 1999 |
| Transpac San Francisco to Hawaii |
7 days 22 hours 38 minutes 27 June to 5 July 1998 |
| 9 Race Records | |
| Newport to Ensenada * World's Fastest Yacht Race Record |
6 hours 46 minutes 40 seconds 18.45 knots(34.17 km/h) 24 April 1998 |
Chicago to Mackinac | 18 hours 50 minutes 32 seconds 15.55 knots 18 to 19 July 1998 |
| Transpac * | 6 days 16 hours 7 minutes July 4-11,1995 |
| Single-handed Transpac | 7 days 22 hours 38 minutes 27 June to 5 July 1998 |
| Miami to Montego Bay * | 2 days 20 hours 8 minutes 5 seconds 4 to 7 February 1999 |
| Swiftsure | 14 hours 35 minutes 29 seconds 24 to 25 May 1997 |
| San Diego to Puerto Vallarta | 62 hours 20 minutes 11 seconds 15.9 knots 8 to 10 February 1998 |
| Long Beach to Cabo San Lucas | 3 days 2 hours 59 minutes 4 to 7 November 1995 |
| Windjammers | 4 hours 41 minutes 2 seconds 29 August 1997 |
| Solo TransAtlantic Race | |
| Route de Rhum | 5th Place Overall 6 to 10 November 1994 |
| CROSS COUNTRY SKIING | |
| Aspen to Vail * | 59 hours, 53 minutes, 30 seconds 20 to 22 February 1998 |
| Aspen to Eagle | 12 hours, 39 minutes 21 February 2000 |
| OTHER SPORTS | |
| Iditarod Dogsled Race | 1,165 mile race across Alaska 47th Place 1 to 15 March 1992 |
| Ironman Triathalon (Hawaii) | 2.4 mi. swim, 112 mi. bike, 26.1 mi. run 26 October 1996 |
| English Channel Swim | France to England 8 to 9 September 1985 |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans Sports Car Race | Kremer Porsche 962C and Kremer K-8 20 to 21 June 1993 and 15 to 16 June 1996 |
| Leadville 100 | Colorado Trail Run August 1991 |
| AWARDS | |
| Gold Air Medal, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 2002 | |
| Explorers Medal, The Explorers Club, 2002 | |
| Medaille de l'Aéronautique, République Française, March 2003 | |
| Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, U.S. Sailing Association, 2001 | |
| Grande Medaille de l'Aéro Club de France, 2002 | |
| Order of Magellan, Circumnavigators Club, 2003 | |
| Gold Medal, The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, April 2002 | |
| Prix De La Vaulx, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 1995, 1997,1998, 2002, 2004 | |
| Centenary Medal, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 2005 | |
| Tissandia Diploma, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 2005 | |
| Cabot Award, Aero Club of New England, June 2006 | |
| Prix de l'Aventure Sportive, Académie des Sports, France, March 2002 | |
| Balloon and Airship Hall of Fame, FAI - CIA, Inducted June 1997 | |
| Diplôme de Montgolfier, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, March 1996 | |
| Victor Award (Special), Victor Sports Awards, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005 | |
| Distinction in Exploration, National Geographic Society, November 1998 | |
| Harmon Trophy, National Aeronautic Association, 1998 and 2002 | |
| Silver Buffalo, Boy Scouts of America, May 1999 | |
| Distinguished Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America, May 1998 | |
| Hall of Fame, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Laureate for Operations, March 2003 | |
| HONORARY DOCTORATES | |
| D. S., Washington University, May 2006 | |
| D. S., Ripon College, May 2006 | |
| HONORARY MEMBERSHIPS | |
| Aéro Club de France | |
| National Yacht Club of Ireland | |
| Académie Nationale de l'Air et de l'Elspace | |
| Circumnavigators Club | |
| The Adventurers Club | |
| Newport Harbor Yacht Club | |
| Royal Temple Yacht Club | |
* Record Superceded