Fossett Sets Flight Distance Record

"As it gets lighter, you have to slow down," Rutan said. "The most efficient speed gets slower and slower, and as you continue you have to fly higher and higher, just as long as you have enough air."

Fossett's solo flight last year was marred by the loss of 2,800 pounds of fuel from a vent line during the initial ascent, prompting fears that he would not be able to complete the circumnavigation. But when he still finished with plenty of fuel left, engineers suspected that a leak-free GlobalFlyer could use the surplus to fly much farther.

"We identified what we thought was [last year's] problem and put in a plumbing fix," Rutan said. But once again, GlobalFlyer lost fuel on the ascent -- about 750 pounds of fuel between 35,000 and 40,000 feet. "We helped a lot," Rutan added, "but unfortunately we didn't fix it."

Rutan said during the flight that the fuel loss made Fossett's chances for success "questionable for sure." Flight controllers calculated that the venting virtually wiped out what they expected to be a margin of between 500 and 1,000 pounds of fuel that Fossett had counted on for emergencies. That estimate proved to be almost exactly right.

In addition to the fuel loss, Fossett hit two birds on the ascent and reported ventilation problems early in the flight. The hard-working engine caused temperatures in the cockpit to stay above 105 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours and rise as high as 130 degrees. Mission control south of London said Fossett was forced to drink up a "significant amount" of his 10-quart water supply before GlobalFlyer had used enough fuel to allow the engine to slack off.

Fossett flew with a compact package of electronics provided by Blue Sky Network, including a cell phone, a data downlink that monitored fuel consumption and a navigation system that constantly updated GlobalFlyer's position and enabled flight aficionados to follow his progress on an Internet display.

Late Thursday over India, Fossett used the cell phone to report "uncomfortable" turbulence, mission control said. Later, he acknowledged that winds had buffeted the plane so severely that he put on his parachute.

"I was afraid it was going to break up," he told mission control. "It was a scary time . . . and I was prepared to bail out in case a wing broke. I still have a lot to worry about."