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On the 3rd of March, the North-American Steve Fossett reached a milestone in aviation history by becoming the first person to single-handedly fly around the globe non-stop, without even any refuelling stops. He piloted a single-engine ultra-light aircraft that was given the name Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

Fossett, a 60 year old millionaire, set out from Salina Airport, Kansas, on the 1st of March with the intention of flying around the world in eighty hours. Not only did the adventurer complete his aerial voyage, he even cut the expected time by around 13 hours.

So the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer landed at Salina 67 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds after take-off, in other words almost 3 days later, and out of the aircraft climbed a Steve Fossett happy with his achievement, to be added to the list of adventures of a man who specialises in breaking world records.

Fossett, who for most of the journey flew at a speed of 400 km per hour and a height of 15,000 metres, was met on the ground by thousands of fans eager for a close-up of one of the most eccentric adventurers of recent times and of the ultra-light in which he had flown around the world.