US businessman and aviation world-record breaker Steve Fossett is ready to take to the air in his attempt to re-create Alcock and Brown's historic non-stop flight across the Atlantic to Connemara.
Waiting for the right weather has delayed the flight.
Mr Fossett is hoping to take off from Newfoundland in the coming week and arrive in Connemara the following day. He does not plan, however, to replicate the original crash-landing in the west of Ireland, hoping for a smooth one instead.
Mr Fossett, who recently completed the world's first solo, non-stop global circum-
navigation by aircraft, will be using a replica Vickers Vimy biplane.
He and co-pilot Mark Rebholz will rely on celestial navigation, averaging 75 mph on the 1,900-
mile crossing from Newfound-
land.
Weather conditions are crucial, because of the lack of instrumentation onboard, and the aircraft will take more than an hour to ascend to 1,500 feet.
The pair, who landed in Newfoundland two days ago after transiting the US, will wear survival suits and carry a life raft and satellite beacons in case of an emergency.
"Since this is a primary shipping route, there will be a ship within one hour of us at all times if we do have to ditch," Mr Fossett told The Irish Times. "But we are pretty confident in our plane."
Apart from advanced safety equipment, the "one big advantage" these pilots will have over Alcock and Brown is advance knowledge of weather conditions before takeoff.
"We can understand it so much better and we can forecast tail winds. Alcock and Brown had to go without knowing that. At the same time, the plane handles exactly like the original and is very difficult," Mr Fossett said.
The pair will be exposed in the open cockpit of the biplane, which was originally designed as a first World War bomber.
"A terrible journey" was how Capt John Alcock described it, as both he and Lieut Arthur Whitten Brown were exposed to fog and sleet storms, and sustained themselves with sandwiches, chocolate, coffee and beer.
Mr Fossett and Mr Rebholz have their own choices to help them stay alert during the estimated 18-hour flight, including diet milkshakes and protein bars.
The replica biplane has already proved itself on two of the three records set by Vickers Vimy in 1919-20: a London-to-
Sydney run, repeated in 1995, and a London-to-Capetown flight repeated five years ago.
Only the nosedive landing won't be true to the original, the pilots hope. Alcock and Brown landed in Derrygimla bog, near Clifden, early on June 19th.
Mr Fossett has set a plethora of aviation and sailing records, including non-stop circum-
navigation of the globe by balloon.
He has swum the English Channel, raced twice at the Le Mans 24-hour and participated in the Ironman triathlon.
His passion is gliding, he says, for which he has further plans this summer.
The Clifden Chamber of Commerce has secured the support of Eamon Conneely, skipper-owner of the €1 million Transpac 52 high-performance racing craft which was launched earlier this month.
The Transpac, named Patches after Conneely's home townland in Connemara, will lead a flotilla of boats to celebrate Mr Fossett's crossing.
The Air Corps has also promised its support, and the organisers have asked spectators to arrive in period dress.
The aircraft will remain at Clifden on display for at least a month, and full details of the event are available at www.clifden.ie
The Vimy Atlantic website carries updated details on the flight at www.vimy.org
