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61-620: The Decathlon was designed by the Champion Aircraft Corporation , and is a derivative of the 7-series Citabrias . While the Citabria designs remain successful, and the introduction of the 7KCAB variant of the Citabria had added limited inverted flight capability, the Citabrias are not capable of "outside" maneuvers, those requiring significant negative-g loads. Pilots wanted an aircraft capable of more maneuvers, and Champion introduced

122-767: A Vickers Vimy biplane. Their flight from St. John's, Newfoundland , Canada to Clifden , County Galway , Ireland in the open cockpit Vickers Vimy replica took 18 hours 25 minutes with 13 hours flown in instrument flight conditions. Because there was no airport in Clifden, Fossett and Rebholz landed on the 8th fairway of the Connemara Golf Links. The team of Steve Fossett and Terry Delore (NZ) set ten official world records in gliders while flying in three major locations: New Zealand, Argentina, and Nevada, United States. An asterisk (*) indicates records subsequently broken by other pilots. Fossett and co-pilot Einar Enevoldson flew

183-563: A carburetor . To facilitate negative-g flight, the fuel system incorporates a 1.5 gallon header tank beneath the instrument panel, and the engine is fitted with a Christen Industries inverted oil system. Champion and Bellanca built the Decathlon with several Lycoming IO-320 engine variants, all of 150 horsepower (110 kW), and with the choice of a fixed-pitch or constant speed propeller . The major improvement in Bellanca's introduction of

244-617: A Virgin airship. In 2006, Fossett was one of only 17 pilots in the world licensed to fly the Zeppelin. Fossett made the first solo nonstop unrefueled fixed-wing aircraft flight around the world between February 28 and March 3, 2005. He took off from Salina, Kansas , where he was assisted by faculty members and students from Kansas State University , and flew eastbound with the prevailing winds, returning to Salina after 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 seconds, without refueling or making intermediate landings. His average speed of 342.2 mph (550.7 km/h)

305-455: A banner that read "Beat Cal " on the wall of the prison, closed two years previously. He made the swim but was thwarted by a security guard when he arrived. While at Stanford, Fossett was a student body officer and served as the president of a few clubs. In 1966, Fossett graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics. Fossett spent the following summer in Europe climbing mountains and swimming

366-544: A crew of 13. In 2007, Fossett held the world record for crossing the Pacific Ocean in his 125-foot (38 m) sailboat, the PlayStation , which he accomplished on his fourth try. Complete Summary of Sailing Records 13 Outright World Records: 2 Singlehanded World Records: 9 Race Records: Singlehanded Race Record: World Records set but later beaten: At the time of his death a submarine, DeepFlight Challenger ,

427-475: A glider into the stratosphere on August 29, 2006. The flight set the Absolute Altitude Record for gliders at 15,460 metres (50,720 ft). Since the glider cockpit was unpressurized, the pilots wore full pressure suits (similar to space suits) so that they would be able to fly to altitudes above 45,000 feet (14,000 m). Fossett and Enevoldson had made previous attempts in three countries over

488-506: A natural gift for athletics or team sports, so he focused on activities that required persistence and endurance. His father, an Eagle Scout , encouraged Fossett to pursue these types of adventures and encouraged him to become involved with the Boy Scouts early. He became an active member of Troop 170 in Orange, California. At age 13, Fossett earned the Boy Scouts' highest rank of Eagle Scout. He

549-537: A period of five years before finally succeeding with this record flight. This endeavor is known as the Perlan Project . As a young adventurer, Fossett was one of the first participants in the Worldloppet , a series of cross-country ski marathons around the world. While he had little experience as a skier, he was in the first group of 'citizen athletes' to participate in the series debut in 1979. And in 1980, he became

610-627: A tree in India ; the trip set records at the time for duration and distance of flight (with Fossett doubling his own previous record) and was called Solo Spirit after Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis . Fossett slept an average of two hours a night for the six-day journey, conducted in below-zero temperatures. After taking too much fuel to cross the Atlantic Ocean and circling Libya for 12 hours while officials decided whether or not to allow him into their airspace, Fossett did not have enough fuel to finish

671-561: The Dakar Rally . Fossett tried six times over seven years for the first solo balloon circumnavigation. His fifth attempt cost him $ 1.25 million of his own money; his sixth and successful attempt was commercially sponsored. Two of the attempts were launched from Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis , Missouri. Washington University in St. Louis served as control center for four of the six flights, including

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732-555: The 8GCBC Scout and the group of Citabria and Champ variants, in 1990, bringing the Super Decathlon version back into production that same year. It is still being produced. The Decathlon traces its lineage back to the Aeronca Champ , by way of the Citabria. Like the Citabria, the Decathlon features tandem seating and center-stick controls. The fuselage and tail surfaces are constructed of welded metal tubing. The outer shape of

793-685: The Chicago Board of Trade and permitted him to market the services of the firm from a phone on the floor of that exchange. In 1980, Fossett began the process that eventually produced his enduring prosperity: renting exchange memberships to would-be floor traders, first on the Chicago Board Options Exchange . After fifteen years of working for other companies, Fossett founded his own firms, Marathon Securities and Lakota Trading, from which he made millions renting exchange memberships. He founded Lakota Trading for that purpose in 1980. In

854-596: The Dardanelles . In 1968, Fossett received an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis , Missouri, where he was later a longtime member of the Board of Trustees. Fossett's first job out of business school was with IBM ; he then served as a consultant for Deloitte and Touche , and later accepted a job with Marshall Field's . Fossett later said, "For the first five years of my business career, I

915-678: The Formula Shell LSRV Spirit of America from former land speed record holder Craig Breedlove . He rechristened the vehicle the Spirit of America Sonic Arrow and set about making improvements to the vehicle to break the land speed record. Fossett was initially unable to break even 675 miles per hour (1,086 km/h) with the vehicle but eventually hoped to raise its top speed to 800 miles per hour (1,300 km/h) and even 900 miles per hour (1,400 km/h). After his disappearance and death, his team's efforts continued until 2008. The vehicle

976-871: The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and Fossett broke three of them in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer . All three records were previously held by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager from their flight in the Voyager in 1986. Fossett contributed the GlobalFlyer to the Smithsonian Institution 's permanent collection. It is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum . Fossett flew

1037-729: The Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii (finishing in 1996 in 15:53:10), the Boston Marathon , and the Leadville Trail 100 , a 100-mile (160 km) Colorado ultramarathon which involves running up to elevations of more than 12,600 feet (3,800 m) in the Rocky Mountains . Fossett raced cars in the mid-1970s and later returned to the sport in the 1990s. He competed in the 24 hours of Le Mans road race in 1993 and in 1996, along with

1098-607: The World Sailing Speed Record Council . On August 29, 2006, he set the world altitude record for gliders over El Calafate , Argentina at 15,460 metres (50,720 ft). On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan , Canada, after taking off from South Korea , becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon . In 2002, he became the first person to fly around

1159-612: The "interesting things" he had done in college during his time in exchange-related activities: "There was a period of time where I wasn't doing anything except working for a living. I became very frustrated with that and finally made up my mind to start getting back into things." He began to take six weeks a year off to spend time on sports and moved to Beaver Creek, Colorado in 1990. Fossett later sold most of his business interests, although he maintained an office in Chicago until 2006. In 1968, Fossett married Peggy Fossett (née Viehland), who

1220-549: The 1,165-mile (1,875 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race , in which he finished 47th on his second try in 1992 after training for five years. He became the 270th person to swim across the English Channel on his fourth try in September 1985 with a time of 22 hours, 15 minutes. Although Fossett said he was not a good enough swimmer "to make the varsity swim team", he found that he could swim for long periods. Fossett competed in

1281-771: The 1980s, he became friends with Patrick Morrow , who was attempting to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents for the " Seven Summits " world record, which Morrow achieved in 1985. Fossett accompanied Morrow for his last three peaks, including Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania, and Elbrus in Europe. While Fossett went on to climb almost all of the Seven Summits peaks himself, he declined to climb Mount Everest in 1992 due to asthma . He later returned to Antarctica to climb again. Fossett competed in and completed premier endurance sports events, including

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1342-399: The 7BCM, 7CCM, and 7DC, reaching the 7EC. It was this model with which Champion commenced production in 1954, giving it the name "Traveler" to go along with the alphanumeric model designation. (Champion assigned both alphanumeric designations and names to most of its designs.) Though there was a great variety, all of the aircraft which Champion introduced were in one way or another related to

1403-415: The 8KCAB Decathlon in response to this demand. The Decathlon entered production at Champion in 1972, immediately before the company was acquired by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation , so only a handful were produced by Champion. Bellanca continued production of the Decathlon throughout the 1970s, moving to the Super Decathlon variant during 1976. Bellanca built over 600 of the 8KCAB design before production of

1464-421: The Citabria's flat-bottomed airfoil. This change gives the Decathlon better inverted flight and negative-g maneuver capabilities. The landing gear of the Decathlon is in a conventional arrangement. The main gear legs of most Decathlons are made of spring steel , though American Champion began to use aluminum gear legs in 2004. Like the 7KCAB, the engine of the 8KCAB has a fuel injection system, as opposed to

1525-524: The Super Decathlon was the change of engine to the Lycoming AEIO-360-H1A or –H1B, both of 180 horsepower (130 kW), which was accompanied by a selection of constant speed propellers. The American Champion Super Decathlon uses the AEIO-360-H1B, along with a constant speed propeller. Though the Decathlon went out of production within a decade of its introduction, this was not due to any fault in

1586-524: The World (13.5 days), Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon (20,482.26 miles (32,963.00 km)), and 24-Hour Balloon Distance (3,186.80 miles (5,128.66 km) on July 1). While Fossett had financed five previous tries himself, his successful record-setting flight was sponsored by Bud Light . In the end, Fossett actually made money on all his balloon flights. He bought a contingency insurance policy for $ 500,000 that would pay him $ 3 million if he succeeded in

1647-420: The aircraft it has produced and has made the aluminum-spar wings available for retrofit installation on older aircraft. Compared to the Citabria's wingspan of 33.5 feet (10.2 m), the Decathlon's wingspan is shorter, at 32 feet (9.8 m). One of the major developments of the 8KCAB Decathlon over the 7KCAB Citabria is the Decathlon's wing, which employs a semi-symmetrical NACA 1412 airfoil , as opposed to

1708-461: The aircraft was interrupted when the company's assets were liquidated in 1981. The Decathlon design passed through the hands of a number of companies through the 1980s, including a Champion Aircraft Company which was no relation to the Champion Aircraft of the 1960s, but no Decathlons were built in that period. American Champion Aircraft Corporation acquired the Decathlon design, along with

1769-652: The design, but rather to the slump in general aviation in the United States at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Since its reintroduction, the Super Decathlon has sold steadily. Decathlons and Super Decathlons remain popular as aerobatic trainers, as beginning and intermediate aerobatic aircraft, and as personal aircraft. Steve Fossett was flying a Bellanca-built Super Decathlon when he went missing on September 3, 2007. He took off from an airstrip at William Barron Hilton 's Flying-M Ranch , about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Reno, Nevada . Remains of

1830-456: The duration was 76 hours 45 minutes. The next month, Fossett made a third flight around the world in order to break the absolute record for "Distance over a closed circuit without landing" (with takeoff and landing at the same airport). He took off from Salina, Kansas on March 14, 2006 and returned on March 17, 2006 after flying 25,262 statute miles (40,655 km). There are only seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by

1891-473: The early 1980s, he founded Marathon Securities and extended that successful formula to memberships on the New York stock exchanges. He earned millions renting floor trading privileges (exchange memberships) to hopeful new floor traders, who also paid clearing fees to Fossett's clearing firms in proportion to the trading activity of those renting the memberships. In 1997, the trading volume of its rented memberships

American Champion Decathlon - Misplaced Pages Continue

1952-595: The east-to-west transcontinental record for non-supersonic fixed-wing aircraft on September 17, 2000. He flew from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California in 3 hours, 29 minutes, at an average speed of 591.96 mph (952.67 km/h). On July 2, 2005, Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz recreated the first nonstop crossing of the Atlantic which was made by the British team of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in June 1919 in

2013-527: The eighth skier to complete all 10 of the long distance races, earning a Worldloppet medallion. He has also set cross-country skiing records in Colorado, setting an Aspen to Vail record of 59 h, 53 min, 30 s in February 1998, and an Aspen to Eagle record of 12 hr, 29 min in February 2001. Fossett was a lifelong mountain climber and had climbed the highest peaks on six of the seven continents. In

2074-595: The financial services industry and held world records for five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist , as a sailor , and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot . A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club , Fossett set more than one hundred records in five different sports, sixty of which still stood at the time of his death. He broke three of

2135-463: The first 2,000 km Out-and-Return, the first 1,500 km Triangle and the longest Straight Distance flights. His achievements as a jet pilot in a Cessna Citation X include records for U.S. Transcontinental, Australia Transcontinental, and Round-the-World westbound non-supersonic flights. Prior to Fossett's aviation records, no pilot had held world records in more than one class of aircraft; Fossett held them in four classes. In 2005, Fossett made

2196-623: The first solo, nonstop unrefueled circumnavigation of the world in an airplane, in 67 hours in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer , a single-engine jet aircraft. In 2006, he again circumnavigated the globe nonstop and unrefueled in 76 hours, 45 minutes in the GlobalFlyer , setting the record for the longest flight by any aircraft in history with a distance of 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km). He set 91 aviation world records ratified by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , of which 36 stand, plus 23 sailing world records ratified by

2257-565: The flight. Along with sponsorship, that payout meant that in the end Fossett did not have to spend any of his money other than for initial expenses. Fossett was one of sailing's most prolific distance record holders. Speed sailing was his specialty and from 1993 to 2004 he dominated the record sheets, setting 23 official world records and nine distance race records. He is recognized by the World Sailing Speed Record Council as "the world's most accomplished speed sailor". On

2318-557: The flight. That year, Fossett flew farther for less money than better-financed expeditions (including one supported by Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson ) in part due to his ability to fly in an unpressurized capsule, a result of his heavy physical training at high altitudes. The Solo Spirit capsule was put on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum across from the Apollo 11 command module. In 2006, Fossett purchased

2379-522: The fuselage is created by a combination of wooden formers and longerons , covered with fabric. The cross-section of the metal fuselage truss is triangular, a design feature which can be traced back to the earliest Aeronca C-2 design of the late 1920s. The strut-braced wings of the Decathlon are, like the fuselage and tail surfaces, fabric covered, using aluminum alloy ribs . The wings of Champion and Bellanca Decathlons were built with wooden spars . American Champion has been using aluminum spars in

2440-730: The ground for 20 minutes at the end of the flight. Only the capsule survived the landing; it was taken to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. , where it was displayed. The control center for the mission was in Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis . Fossett's top speed during the flight was 186 miles per hour (299 km/h) over the Indian Ocean. The trip set a number of records for ballooning: Fastest (200 miles per hour (320 km/h), breaking his own previous record of 166 miles per hour (270 km/h)), Fastest Around

2501-535: The maxi-catamaran Cheyenne (formerly named PlayStation ), Fossett twice set the prestigious 24 Hour Record of Sailing . In October 2001, Fossett and his crew set a transatlantic record of 4 days 17 hours, shattering the previous record by 43 hours 35 minutes; an increase in average speed of nearly seven knots. In early 2004, Fossett, as skipper, set the Around the world sailing record of 58 days, 9 hours in Cheyenne with

American Champion Decathlon - Misplaced Pages Continue

2562-403: The original Aeronca design. Champion's aircraft, by date of FAA approval or Champion introduction are: Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraft . He made his fortune in

2623-451: The plane to the Center and taxied the plane to the front door. Fossett set two U.S. transcontinental fixed-wing aircraft records in the same day. On February 5, 2003, Fossett and co-pilot Doug Travis flew his Cessna Citation X jet from San Diego , California to Charleston, South Carolina in 2 hours, 56 minutes, 20 seconds, at an average speed of 726.83 mph (1,169.72 km/h) to smash

2684-476: The plane were found 13 months later near the town of Mammoth Lakes, California , just south of the original search area. James May , a presenter on The Grand Tour owned an 8KCAB Decathlon with the registration G-OCOK, in reference to his catch-phrase on the television series Top Gear . Data from Manufacturer General characteristics Performance Related development Champion Aircraft (Wisconsin) Champion Aircraft Corporation

2745-652: The record-breaking one. In 1998, one of the unsuccessful attempts at the ballooning record ended with a five-mile (8 km) plummet into the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia that nearly killed Fossett; he waited 72 hours to be rescued, at a cost of $ 500,000. The first attempt began in the Black Hills of South Dakota and ended outside Hampton, New Brunswick 1,800 miles (2,900 km) later. The second attempt, launched from Busch Stadium, cost $ 300,000 and lasted 9,600 miles (15,400 km) before being downed halfway in

2806-796: The seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , all in his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer . In 2002, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club of the UK, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007. Fossett disappeared on September 3, 2007, while flying a light aircraft over the Great Basin Desert , between Nevada and California. Fossett's plane

2867-476: The transcontinental record for non-supersonic jets. He returned to San Diego, then flew the same course as co-pilot for fellow adventurer Joe Ritchie in Ritchie's turboprop Piaggio Avanti . Their time was 3 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds, an average speed of 546.44 mph (879.41 km/h), which broke the previous turboprop transcontinental record held by Chuck Yeager and Renald Davenport. Fossett also set

2928-452: The twin-engined Lancer . Champion was acquired in 1970 by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation , which continued to produce most of the Champion designs in production at the time of acquisition. Champion, as the name suggests, was formed to produce the design which Aeronca had introduced in 1946 as the 7AC Champion. By the time Aeronca ceased production in 1951, they had advanced the design through

2989-577: The weight of the aircraft at take-off, was 83 percent. On February 11, 2006, Fossett set the absolute world record for "distance without landing" by flying from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida, around the world eastbound, then upon returning to Florida continuing across the Atlantic a second time to land in Bournemouth , England. The official distance was 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km) and

3050-494: The world alone, nonstop in any kind of aircraft. He launched the 10-story high balloon Spirit of Freedom from Northam, Western Australia on June 19, 2002 and returned to Australia on July 3, 2002, subsequently landing in Queensland . Duration and distance of this solo balloon flight was 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km). The balloon dragged him along

3111-622: Was a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow , the Boy Scouts' honor society, where he served as lodge chief. He also worked as a Ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico during the summer of 1961. Fossett said in 2006 that Scouting was the most important activity of his youth. In college at Stanford University , Fossett was already known as an adventurer; his Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers convinced him to swim to Alcatraz and raise

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3172-401: Was also the absolute world record for "speed around the world, nonstop and non-refueled." His aircraft, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer , had a carbon fiber reinforced plastic airframe with a single Williams FJ44 turbofan engine. It was designed and built by Burt Rutan and his company, Scaled Composites , for long-distance solo flight. The fuel fraction , the weight of the fuel divided by

3233-407: Was an aviator of exceptional breadth of experience. He wanted to become the first person to achieve a solo balloon flight around the world (finally succeeding on his sixth attempt, in 2002, becoming the first person to complete an uninterrupted and unrefueled solo circumnavigation of the world in any kind of aircraft). He set, with co-pilot Terry Delore, 10 of the 21 Glider Open records, including

3294-759: Was described as a "legend" by fellow Scouts. As a national BSA volunteer, he served as Chairman of the Northern Tier High Adventure Committee, Chairman of the Venturing Committee, member of the Philmont Ranch Committee, and member of the National Advisory Council. He later became a member of the BSA National Executive Board, and in 2007, Fossett succeeded Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as president of

3355-653: Was discovered wrecked in 2008. Fossett was born in Jackson, Tennessee and grew up in Garden Grove, California , where he graduated from Garden Grove High School . Fossett's interest in adventure began early. As a Boy Scout , he grew up climbing the mountains of California, beginning with the San Jacinto Mountains . "When I was 12 years old I climbed my first mountain, and I just kept going, taking on more diverse and grander projects." Fossett said that he did not have

3416-412: Was distracted by being in computer systems, and then I became interested in financial markets. That's where I thrived." Fossett then became a successful commodities salesman in Chicago, first for Merrill Lynch in 1973, where he proved a highly successful producer of commission revenue for himself and that firm. He began working in 1976 for Drexel Burnham , which assigned him one of its memberships on

3477-421: Was formed in 1954 by Robert Brown. Headquartered in Osceola , Wisconsin airport , it began production in 1954 of the 7EC design which it had purchased from Aeronca Aircraft Corporation . Through the 1950s and the 1960s Champion introduced variations on the 7-series design. Champion also developed and began production of the significantly upgraded follow-on to the 7-series, the 8KCAB Decathlon , as well as

3538-409: Was larger than any other clearing firm on the Chicago exchange. Lakota Trading replicated that same business plan on many exchanges in the United States and also in London. Fossett later used those revenues to finance his adventures. Fossett said, "As a floor trader, I was very aggressive and worked hard. Those same traits help me in adventure sports." Fossett said he did not participate in any of

3599-431: Was originally from Richmond Heights, Missouri . They had no children. The Fossetts had homes in Beaver Creek, Colorado and Chicago, and a vacation home in Carmel, California . Fossett was friends with billionaire Richard Branson , whose Virgin Group sponsored some of Fossett's adventures. Steve Fossett was well known for his world records and adventures in balloons, sailboats, gliders, and powered aircraft. He

3660-529: Was put up for auction in 2010. Fossett grew up in Garden Grove, California and earned the Eagle Scout award in 1957. He credited his experience in Scouting as a foundation for much of his later success. "As a Scout, I learned how to set goals and achieve them," he once said. "Being a Scout also taught me leadership at a young age when there are few opportunities to be a leader. Scouting values have remained with me throughout my life, in my business career, and now as I take on new challenges." In his later years, he

3721-416: Was under construction to enable Fossett to be the first solo submariner to reach the Challenger Deep . Fossett set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships on October 27, 2004. The new record for fastest flight was accomplished with a Zeppelin NT , at a recorded average speed of 62.2 knots (115.2 km/h; 71.6 mph). The previous record was 50.1 knots (92.8 km/h; 57.7 mph) set in 2001 in

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