James Stephen Fossett was born 22 April 1944, in Jackson, Tennessee. Childhood and youth were spent in Garden Grove in California. From a young age, Steve Fossett was a member of the scout movement. IN 1966 Fossett graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics. IN 1968 year he was awarded the title of Master of Economics at the University of Washington at St. Louis, Missouri. In the same year, Steve Fossett married Peggy Wieland..
To 40 years Fossett was known exclusively in business circles. He had a highly successful career in the stock exchange, and even became the founder of the largest US trading corporation Lakota Trading Inc., co-owner of Scaled Composites.
IN 1985 year, apparently, bored with business achievements, Steve Fossett decided to swim across the English Channel. It was just a challenge to myself – and from the fourth time he did it. By the way, interesting, that Steve made his first extreme achievement, without investing a dollar in it. In the future, he will also be extremely practical to surrender to his passion for extreme entertainment..
Потом последовали 8 years, during which Fossett did not attract public attention. Known, that he was involved in various unusual sports, like marathon ski races in the Colorado mountains, где жил с женой. He also took part in a mountain marathon there.. Even then it became clear, that Fossett is attracted not so much by speed, how many marathon distances. His strong point – выносливость и настойчивость.
apparently, training in the cold and prompted him to the next dare – in 1992 Fossett decided to take part in dog sled racing. He had to drive over a thousand miles in snowy Alaska. Steve Fossett has dealt with this too, but rather inglorious. Его упряжка пришла к финишу сорок седьмой.
IN 1993 year he tried to do auto racing – причем опять на длительные расстояния. Fossett takes part in the Le Mans Sports Car Race, French marathon rally with race cars. But here, too, failure awaited him. – team, in which Steve spoke, пришла тридцать шестой.
In the same 1993 year Steve Fossett, finally, found a worthy calling, in which he was to set his first world records. Устав от гонок на суше, он обратился к воде, which once made him feel like a winner for the first time. Fossett began sailing on high-speed yachts, and it was already a real sport of millionaires.
IN 1993 year he set his first world record for speed sailing on a yacht – behind 44 hours Fossett circled Ireland. From that moment, Steve began to seriously engage in this sport.. He designed the PlayStation high-speed catamaran (later the ship will bear a more “noble” name Cheyenne) and made another 24 record swims. The most famous of them is the "Around the World" 2004 of the year, когда Стив Фоссет и его команда проплыли вокруг земного шара на 6 days faster, than previous record holders.
However, by this time, "swimming" achievements have become something commonplace for the extreme. Finally, what is the achievement worth, which in a year (what happened to Fossett's world record) has been improved by another fellow athlete, and safely forgotten all over the world. After swimming 2004 Fossett announced, that he no longer deals with yachts. By that time, yachts had become a child's play for him., because he had something to be proud of seriously.
With 1995 Steve Fossett cherished a cherished dream. By that time, he had experienced human euphoria more than once., who "broke" someone's record, и хотел большего. Fossett dreamed of becoming a record holder, who will do something for the first time and thus will forever remain in the history of mankind. Он принялся изучать историю человеческих достижений – and found that, what was looking for.
Это казалось невероятным, but in the entire history of aeronautics, not a single person in the world has ever made a round-the-world flight in a balloon. It was that, what do you need – trial, in which Steve's endurance was required at the same time, и его деньги. He knew, what will win, because not a single trained athlete has the right amount, to design a balloon, who can fly long enough. At the same time, there is hardly a millionaire, подобный ему, who will overcome any difficulties of a marathon flight – без сна, нормальной еды, at low temperatures and in thin air.
As for the cold and thin air, here Fossett had no experience. Он поднимался на высочайшие горы (including twice to Everest) практически всех континентов (except Antarctica) – And, By the way, left this hobby, likewise, as well as the passion for yachts, – here all records were set before him. but, planning to fly around the world, Steve Fossett is serious about skiing marathons in the Colorado mountains again. He even designed a special capsule, within which the atmospheric conditions were simulated at an altitude 3 километров, и спал в ней несколько ночей подряд. As a result, it allowed him to be on top 7 kilometers in only one oxygen mask.
In order to construct an apparatus, able to fly around the world, Fossett hired a dedicated team of experts, which included people, set records for hot air ballooning. He spent on his brainchild 300 one thousand dollars (By the way, an order of magnitude smaller than the English and Swiss teams, who at the same time planned to set this record and invested millions of dollars in their balloons). Fossett's ball was comparatively simple, in comparison with competitors' balls. The British and Swiss devoted a lot of time to the construction of a special capsule., in which the balloonist would not feel discomfort at high altitude, while the American Fossett counted, that can withstand the flight without a capsule.
And now the historic moment has come – in 1996 Steve Fossett made the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight. Попытка окончилась неудачей – starting in South Dakota, the balloon could only fly to Canada. However, his Swiss and English competitors did not even – their balloons were out of order already in the first days of the flight.
And Steve Fossett made his second flight with true marathon persistence – this time his balloon flew from Missouri to India, third flight – again from Missouri to Russia, fourth flight – which almost ended in his death, when the balloon hit a storm and began to rapidly lose altitude over Australia ... But even a mortal threat did not stop Fossett. He made a fifth unsuccessful attempt and achieved his goal for the sixth time.. IN 2002 year, starting from Australia, Fossett through 14 days, 19 часов и 50 minutes returned to the starting point.
He became the first in the world and "won a place in the history of world aviation" – the only wording, which over the years journalists have been able to pull out of Steve in response to a question: "Why are you doing it?”. All this time he argued, that is indifferent to fame and attention from the media. “I don't need hype around my name, to find money for extreme achievements. I already have them, – he reasonably remarked. – Hot air balloon ride around the world – it's just that, what i want to do. For a long time and really want ".
Hot air ballooning opens up the aviation world to Fossett. In a new environment for himself, he again began to set small records of speed and range.. Фоссет летал на планерах, дирижаблях и аэропланах через океаны и континенты. When it seemed to him not enough, he tried to fly into the stratosphere on a glider, however the wind let him down, the glider could not climb higher 20 километров.
autumn 2004 Fossett received airship pilot license. 27 октября Фоссетт установил мировой рекорд скорости для дирижаблей. He flew the distance in 1000 meters in both directions at average speed 111,8 км/час, maximum speed - 115 км/час.
With 1 on 3 Martha 2005 Steve Fossett circled the globe on his own in a special plane, Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, constructed by Bert Rutan. It was the first in the world to fly around the globe alone and without stopping.. The flight continued 67 hours 2 минуты и 38 seconds, distance traveled - 36 898,04 km. Start and landing - in the city of Salina, штат Канзас. In February 2006 Steve Fossett at the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer set an all-time record for non-stop flight - 41 467,53 km for 76 hours 45 minutes. It was a non-stop flight around the globe, during which Fossett crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice. Fossett kicks off 8 February from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and landed 11 February in England.
До июля 2006 Fossett held the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on a sailing ship - 4 days 17 hours 28,06 minutes. До февраля 2005 Fossett held the record for the fastest sailing around the world - 58 days 9 hours 32,45 minutes. Фоссетт был членом Королевского географического общества, with 2005 on 2006 the years – member of the World Scout Movement Committee (World Scout Committee).
3 September 2007 Steve Fossett took off in a single-engine plane from a private airfield in Nevada. After a while, communication with him was lost.. Fuel in his plane should have been enough for 4-5 hours of flight. Fossett only carried one bottle of water and did not have a parachute.. The search for the missing adventurer continued for several days. Steve didn't leave his flight plan to the controllers.; it is only known that, that he wanted to fly south in search of a place, suitable for speed racing. Dozens of aircraft and helicopter sorties were made in order to search for the missing. The search area covered the area, равную 44 000 км². Вплоть до 19 September, the search for the missing person was unsuccessful. 19 September, the official searches were terminated, but the volunteers continued to search further, although it was believed, that there is no chance of finding Fossett alive - in more than two weeks in the desert, without food and water, at daytime temperatures up to 35 °C, there is practically no chance of survival. During the search for the missing Fossett, the wreckage of seven previously crashed aircraft were found., but the wreckage of Steve's plane was not among them.
27 September 2007 the possible location of Fossett's plane was mistakenly determined. According to the head of the search and rescue operation, the plane could be located near Death Valley in Nevada. It is about one hundred and sixty kilometers southeast of the airfield., with which Fossett began his journey. 2 October 2008 years near the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, tourists find the site of Fossett's death. На месте катастрофы, except for the wreckage of the aircraft itself, things were found, принадлежавшие Стиву Фоссету, среди них: Fossett's Federal Aviation Administration certificate; aircraft control license; identity card and 1005 Dollars. Also, human bones were found scattered by predators, who were immediately sent for DNA examination. Through 1,5 months DNA examination confirmed, what remains, discovered at the crash site, belonged to Steve Fossett.
James Stephen Fossett established 116 world records in various disciplines.
