US millionaire starts world's longest flight

Feb 8, 2006, 15:31 GMT

Washington - US millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett on Wednesday took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida in his bid to make the longest-distance flight in aviation history.

Fossett had delayed taking off a day earlier because of a fuel leak in his single-engine jet.

The 61-year-old businessman is attempting to fly alone and without any breaks as far as his ultra-light aircraft takes him in 80 hours.

The current record for the world's longest flight is 40,212 kilometres, achieved in 1986 by Dick Rutan and Jeanne Yeager in the Voyager, according to Fossett's team.

Fossett plans to fly from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a final destination at Kent International Airport in Britain, some 120 kilometres east of London.

On the way, Fossett hopes to fly over North Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, back over the Atlantic and Ireland to England.

Fossett said he may be 'crazy,' but that he had been called crazy before.

'I am attracted by a challenge that is at the very edge of my ability and endurance,' Fossett had also said earlier when he first announced his record attempt last July.

Fossett's flight has already been postponed several times due to bad weather.

Flight attempts for early February were cancelled because Fossett was still waiting for an overflight permit from China and the country's government offices were closed for Chinese New Year.

Fossett current holds official world records in five sports. Most recently, he flew the first solo non-stop around-the-world aeroplane flight in early 2005.