Lawrence residents witness aviation history
Six-year-old Trey Swan will have a story of global proportions to tell his grandchildren someday.
Swan, a first-grader at Sunset Hill School, not only got to see the GlobalFlyer airplane land Thursday in Salina after it circled the earth, buthe also got to meet pilot Steve Fossett afterward.
“It was exciting,” he said. “I got to see the plane that went around the world and shake hands with Steve Fossett. I thought it was fun.”
Swan and his grandfather, Bob Swan, both of Lawrence, drove to Salina on Thursday morning to see the plane complete its 67-hour journey. Fossett became the first pilot to fly around the world solo, nonstop without refueling.
They stood near the north end of the runway.
“It landed right in front of us,” Bob Swan said. “It was really something historic to see.”
After the plane landed and the hoopla ended, Fossett and a few others were driving out of a restricted area in a convertible. Swan and his grandson were close enough to introduce themselves.
“He was very scruffy,” Swan said. “He looked very tired. You could tell he had just gone through a long adventure.”
Nelson Krueger, another Lawrence resident, also drove to Salina to see the landing.
Trey Swan, 6, of Lawrence, congratulates pilot Steve Fossett after Fossett completed his record-breaking flight. Trey drove with his grandpa to Salina Thursday to see the historic event.
Krueger spent 31 years as a pilot for TWA and once flew a Boeing 747 10,000 miles from Tel Aviv, Israel, to New York City. He said that was nothing compared with Fossett’s 23,000-mile journey.
Krueger, now a lobbyist and flight instructor, compared the experience of seeing Fossett land to the time he watched the space shuttle Columbia launch.
He said the flight was a victory for several sectors, including those who work with composite materials, aircraft fuel and global positioning equipment.
“I’m over the moon on it,” Krueger said. “The chills are going through me now. I’ve never really felt that way before.”
6News video: GlobalFlyer returns to Salina (03-03-05)
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