Vimy replica completes transatlantic flight

July 20, 2005 – Adventurer Steve Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz re-created the first-ever 1919 transatlantic flight, landing their replica of the World War I biplane on an Ireland golf course on July 3. The bomber replica is the same one that appeared at EAA AirVenture 2001 and landed at Oshkosh in May 2005. Both Fossett and Rebholz are EAA members. The two flew the aircraft from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, to re-create the historic first non-stop transatlantic flight by John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown. Their 18-hour 15-minute flight followed the route of the British team, who crossed the Atlantic in 16 hours and 20 minutes. Alcock and Whitten-Brown made the original flight in June 1919 when the daily mail offered a prize of £10,000 for the first successful non-stop flight across the Atlantic. "This was an endurance test," Fossett said to the AP. "This airplane is very primitive. You have to keep your hands on the controls at all times. If you let go, the plane will go out of control." Flying about 75 miles an hour, they used a compass and sextant to navigate, as in the original flight, although they did have a radio. The flight was the last of three that re-created the original Vimy's flights as part of the Triple Crown air races. In 1994, the team flew 15,306 miles from London to Australia, as the original Vimy had in 1919. In 1999, the Vimy traveled 9,844 miles from London to Cape Town, South Africa, following the British team’s 1920 route. The 1919 and 1920 flights helped demonstrate the viability of commercial aviation and earned the team cash prizes. The replica Vimy has flown more than 30,000 miles and across 30 countries, even enduring an engine failure and crash-landing in Indonesia. About the plane •The original bomber was designed for use during World War I, but the war was over by the time it went into production. •The replica was built in 1993-94 by John LaNoue in California. •The Vickers Vimy weighs between 4 and 6 tons and has a wingspan of nearly 70-feet. •It flies 75 mph. •It is the largest biplane flying today, as well as the largest hand-built aircraft. About the pilots • Steve Fossett — He holds current world records in five sports — balloons, sailboats, gliders, airships and powered aircraft. He will fly the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, in which he made the first solo non-stop flight around the world in March 2005, to EAA AirVenture, landing at Wittman Regional Airport at about 3 p.m. July 26. • Mark Rebholz — . He piloted many of the Vimy's previous flights and is responsible for flight planning, clearances, meteorology, and navigation. Rebholz was chief test pilot for the Vimy's FAA certification, and has over 20,000 flying hours, 4,500 of which are in 24 different vintage-type aircraft. He is currently a Boeing 747 Captain for United Airlines.

Additional Links The Vimy Flight of the Vimy Steve Fossett Challenges EAA members Steve Fossett and Mark Rebholz congratulate each other after finishing the recreation of the first-ever 1919 transatlantic flight.

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