In-Flight Dispatches

Flight Video

Flight Map

Photographs

Sunday, July 3, 2005—After 18 hours of flight, the Vimy safely landed near hole 8A at the Connemara Championship Golf Links at 5:05 p.m. Most of the Vimy trip was done under heavy cloud cover, rain showers, and winds so strong that Fossett and Rebholz struggled to keep their plane upright at times. “They took more chances than we did. I was very impressed that they didn’t really have a very good idea of weather,” said Steve Fossett, referring to John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown’s 1919 flight. “We were doing, if not what you would call a safe flight, then at least a flight that was under control with acceptable risk.” Click here to watch video of the takeoff and other Vimy highlights.

Saturday, July 2, 2005—The Vimy took off today at 7:19 p.m. With good tail winds helping them along, the Vimy went about 120 miles / 100 knots per hour.

Tuesday-Friday, June 28-July 1, 2005—The Vimy crew has scheduled a transatlantic departure for tomorrow, July 2, 2005, with an approximate arrival in Ireland at 4 or 5 p.m., Ireland time, on July 3, 2005.

Monday, June 27, 2005—The Vimy went out for a test flight today.

Sunday, June 26, 2005—Crew still waiting for part. Flight delayed.

Saturday, June 25, 2005—6 p.m. The transatlantic flight has been delayed due to a small part malfunctioning on the Vimy. A new part is getting shipped to Newfoundland from California. The next possible weather pattern looks to be toward the mid to end of next week.

Friday, June 24, 2005—Another positive weather report came in this morning, and the crew is looking at leaving either Saturday, between 1-6 p.m., or Sunday, between 7-10 a.m. They plan to make a decision after looking at tomorrow morning's weather report. Listen to the audio. (588K mp3, 1:25)

Thursday, June 23, 2005—Following another favorable weather report this morning, Steve Fossett and Mark Rebholz have decided to get the Vimy crew in place for a departure this weekend. Once again, the final decision regarding departure time will be made based on evolving weather data, which currently indicate windows of opportunity on both Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Listen to the audio. (940K mp3, 2:17)

Wednesday, June 22, 2005—Having received favorable weather reports for the weekend, the Vimy crew is considering a Saturday afternoon departure for the transatlantic flight to Ireland. A final decision will be made within the next couple days based on evolving weather data. In the meantime, copilot Mark Rebholz is taking the plane for a test flight today. Listen to the audio. (874K mp3, 2:08)

Tuesday, June 21, 2005—Mark Rebholz and Steve Fossett decided this morning that the Vimy will not be ready to make the transatlantic flight on Wednesday afternoon. Ongoing maintenance on the plane is scheduled to be completed tomorrow morning, but the pilot and copilot agreed that the wisest decision would be to delay the flight. Weather reports indicate that there will not be another window of opportunity this week, so the crew will have to wait and see what next week brings. Listen to the audio. (976K mp3, 2:22)

Monday, June 20, 2005—Steve Fossett reports that the weather is looking good for a Wednesday departure if ongoing maintenance to the plane is completed on time. Listen to the audio. (568K mp3, 1:23)

Sunday, June 19, 2005—The Vimy crew is taking a well earned Father's Day break to enjoy the St. John's highlights and hospitality, together with its questionable weather. No suntans for this group!

Saturday, June 18, 2005—The difficult and unusually unsettled North Atlantic weather conditions persist, with a possible weather window mid-week. Failing this, the longer range predictions are for significant weather improvement beginning the week of June 26.

The Vimy crew continues with incantations and incense burning to the North Atlantic weather gods while polishing up the Vimy for its much awaited Atlantic leap.

Friday, June 17, 2005—The potential departure date of Sunday, June 19, has been put off a few days. Stay tuned.

Thursday, June 16, 2005—The crew is planning a test flight tomorrow, June 17th.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005—Steve Fossett flies to St. John's Newfoundland in preparation for a weekend departure on either Saturday, June 18th, or Sunday, June 19th—depending on the weather, of course.

At 7:30 p.m., Mark Rebholz gave a talk, told fascinating stories, and answered questions for an hour and a half in front of the Vimy this evening.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005—86 years ago today, Alcock and Brown, in an original Vickers Vimy, departed St. John's, Newfoundland, for the great unknown—across the Atlantic to Ireland! What a day it must have been, surpassed only by the arrival in Clifden the following day. Thank you to Alcock and Brown for taking the chance at making history.

Monday, June 13, 2005—Thousands of people are still visiting the Vimy as it makes its final preparations for the Transatlantic flight.

Close weather watching is happening to ensure the best possible day for flying across the Atlantic.

Sunday, June 12, 2005—More maintenance, rest and preparation!

Steve Fossett is keeping a close eye on the upcoming weather patterns in hopes of being able to depart next weekend. Stay tuned.

Saturday, June 11, 2005—The crew did maintenance on the Vimy, interviews with the media and some rest and relaxation. The Vimy was on display and several thousand people came by to see it.

Sunday will be more rest, background work and preparation for the Transatlantic flight.

Friday, June 10, 2005—The Vimy rests in St. John's in preparation for the final leg of the Vimy Triple Crown (1919/1994: England to Australia, 1920/1999: England to South Africa, 1919/2005: Newfoundland to Ireland).

Thursday, June 9, 2005—The Vimy departs Quebec City, Quebec, for St. John's Newfoundland.

The following was sent by a Newfoundlander as the Vimy approached St. John's:

It was near 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9, 2005, as I drove along Water Street, the oldest street in North America's oldest city. As I glance skyward, I see the silver wings of the Vimy, as the craft and its crew cut through the airspace above St. John's Harbour. In the distance there's the arc of a magnificent rainbow in all its glorious colors, as if the sky was extending a welcome to a place steeped in history, the city of many firsts, the city of legends—your home away from home. One journey ends and the broad Atlantic Ocean beckons for another to begin. Rest awhile Vickers Vimy, as June 14th awaits you!

Herb Ebsary
St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador

Wednesday, June 8, 2005—(the following update is from Ken Swartz of Toronto Aerospace Museum who was so helpful in Toronto and now beyond!)

12:00 p.m. EST - The Vimy was ferried from Ottawa's Rockcliffe Airport to Gatineau Airport, in the rain!

2:45 p.m. EST - The Vimy, piloted by Mark Rebholz and John LaNoue (both of the Vimy's England to South Africa flight of 1999), took off from Gatineau airport after being pumped up with 1449 liters of fuel. (Thank you again Mike Potter for your generous donation of fuel!) The Vimy took off in the rain and was expected to try to make it to Quebec City, Quebec, about a 5 hour flight. If weather conditions worsened, Mark Rebholz said he would probably make a few short hops across eastern Canada to reach St. John's rather than attempting a single non-stop flight.

No word yet on where they landed - stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 7, 2005—Lots of good work and maintenance is getting completed while we have a couple extras days in Ottawa. The plan is still to leave on Thursday, June 9th, in the morning.

Monday, June 6, 2005—Due to poor weather conditions, the Vimy is now scheduled to leave Ottawa in the morning of Thursday, June 9th. An earlier departure is possible, if weather permits.

Saturday and Sunday, June 4 & 5, 2005—Installation of cowlings and maintenance is continuing on the Vimy. (More to come)

Friday, June 3, 2005—John LaNoue and crew are continuing to complete installation of the cowlings and all is going well without any major glitches.

The crew is now estimating a Monday, June 6th departure, however there is a possibility of bad weather on Monday - so it may be a Tuesday or Wednesday departure.

After being at the Canada Aviation Museum for a day or two, Steve Fossett commented that it is a world-class facility!

Thursday, June 2, 2005

8:15 a.m. NFLD time - Radio interview with Mark and Steve on CBC's Morning Radio Show in Newfoundland.

John LaNoue arrived from California today and immediately began working with Sebastien Arsenault and Tim Smythe installing the new cowlings over the engines.

Upcoming Ottawa information and plans...

*Steve Fossett and Mark Rebholz are planning an 1,100 mile nonstop, 12-13 hour flight from Ottawa to St. John's as a rigorous disciplined preparatory flight for the forthcoming TRANSATLANTIC. As in the original flight in 1919, Steve and Mark will only be using traditional instrumentation; compass, sextant and drift meter - no GPS for these guys!

They are planning a full fuel load as it was kindly and personally sponsored by Mike Potter who is based at the Gatineau Airport for which, because of longer runways, will be the departure point fro St. John's. Mike is an avid Alcock and Brown fan and has a collection of Vimy memorabilia at his Gatineau hangar.

Until the night prior to departure, the Vimy and crew will be based at the Canada Aviation Museum with the much appreciated support of Chris Terry, Mark Ducharme and the capable and helpful staff.

Wednesday, June 1, 2005—The Vimy taxied from the Bombardier aircraft factor one kilometer north to Downsview Park shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday morning where Steve Fossett was waiting to be reunited with the Vimy, which he had flown from California to his home base of Salina, Kansas, the previous week.

Toronto Aerospace Museum arranged for four replica WWI fighter aircraft to accompany the Vimy as it departed Downsview. The spectacular site of the five biplane aircraft taking off was broadcast live on national television. The host of CBC TV's national morning program broadcast live from Downsview throughout the morning.

8:30 a.m. EDT - Live broadcast from the airport on Canada's CBC Morning Show.

9:00 a.m. EDT - Press conference with Steve Fossett and Mark Rebholz.

10:30 a.m. EDT - Vimy departed Toronto for Ottawa with Brampton's Great War Flying Museum's formation of World War I airplanes.

1:55 p.m. EDT - The Vimy arrived in Ottawa, completed one long and low flyby before a perfectly smooth landing. Marshaled in by Canada Aviation Museum staff and welcomed by many interested museum visitors and volunteers, the aircraft will now be hangared in the Museum's new Storage Wing facility.

Canada Aviation Museum will house the Vimy and supply technical and equipment support while John LaNoue (builder-mechanic), Sebastien Arsenault and Tim Smyth (both of Phoenix Aero Aviation Eng Ltd) install the cowlings and make final preparations before the Vimy departs for St. John's, Newfoundland, on the 4th or 5th of June.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005—The Orenda engines had their final inspection and passed with flying colors! The engines are ready to go.

Cameras have been mounted onto the Vimy to provide live video streaming on this site. They will be tested out tomorrow during a flying formation of World War I airplanes from Brampton's Great War Flying Museum.

Monday, May 30, 2005—Tomorrow Steve Fossett arrives in preparation for Wednesday morning's departure to Ottawa, Ontario.

Sunday, May 29, 2005—The Vimy continues to be on static display at the Toronto Downsview Airport.

Saturday, May 28, 2005—All is going well in Toronto. Mark said about 2,000 people came to see the Vimy at the Downsview airport this morning! What an amazing response to this historical and majestic aircraft!

Mark also informed us that his and Steve Fossett's departure in the Vimy has been now scheduled for Wednesday morning after a press conference.

Friday, May 27, 2005—An article in the Toronto section of the National Post, page A14, came out today. We are awaiting a legible copy to post to our website.

Cameras will be mounted to the Vimy this weekend so that we will be able to provide video footage of the upcoming transatlantic flight.

Thursday, May 26, 2005—There was a photo of the Vimy arriving in Toronto and a blurb about the upcoming flight in the Toronto Star. The Vimy and crew plan to be in Toronto until Tuesday, May 31, when they will leave for Ottawa, Ontario.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005, 10:30 CST—Mark Rebholz and Dan Downs left Oshkosh, Wisconsin, heading to London, Ontario, to go through customs.

6:40 p.m. EST - Mark Rebholz called to say they were through customs in London, Ontario, and expecting a sunset arrival in Toronto. 'Torontonians'—keep your eyes and ears open—the Vimy is coming to town!

7:15 p.m. EST - The Vimy departed London, Ontario, en route to Toronto Downsview Airport.

8:40 p.m. EST - The Vimy arrived over Downsview Airport in north Toronto just after sunset and was greeted by a large crowd from the media and the Toronto Aerospace Museum. The aircraft made a couple of low-level passes for the cameras.

8:52 p.m. EST - Vimy lands at Downsview

The large crowd gathered for the Vimy's arrival was enlisted to push the Vimy from the runway into the Museum's project hangar, which also contains a rare 1945 Avro Lancaster bomber, and a full scale replica of the 1958 Avro CF-105 Arrow jet interceptor.

News photographers and TV stations were standing beside the runway to capture the magnificent arrival, and their reports were carried on the evening TV news, in morning papers, and on radio.

Downsview Airport in north Toronto was established by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. in 1929. The airport is currently owned by Bombardier Aerospace, which assembles two top-selling aircraft in a large factory: the Bombardier Q Series Dash 8 airliner family, and the Bombardier Global ultra long-range business jet family.

The old de Havilland factory where the museum is located is part of Downsview Park, a national cultural space. The hangar containing the Vimy was a paint shop for Tiger Moth, Anson II, and Mosquito aircraft during the Second World War, and the postwar birthplace of the famous DHC-1 Chipmunk trainer, DHC-2 Beaver, and DHC-3 Otter bushplanes.

The Vimy is not the first transatlantic aircraft to use these facilities. In October 1921, Australian Bert Hinkler's de Havilland Puss Moth was assembled here and went on to claim the first solo crossing of the South Atlantic. In 1934, Captain Len Reid and James Richard Ayling's D.H.84 Dragon biplane Trail of the Caribou was also assembled here, and later flew nonstop from Wasaga Beach, Ontario (near Toronto), to London, England, in August 1934.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005, 5:00 a.m. CST—With news of a storm coming in to Salina, Mark Rebholz and Will Klein, pilot and volunteer with the GlobalFlyer project, left Salina early in the morning to keep ahead of the storm. After eight hours of flying and pilot Will Klein never relinquishing the controls, Will, Mark and the Vimy landed safely in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the first time in five years. Mark commented on what a great job Will did piloting the Vimy.

Monday, May 23, 2005—The Vimy will be in Salina for a couple of days for maintenance and down time for the pilots. The Vimy is parked in the hangar next to Steve Fossett's record-breaking GlobalFlyer. See photo gallery for pictures.

Sunday, May 22, 2005, 5:45 a.m. PST—Fossett and Rebholz head back into the sky from Lake Havasu, Arizona, for 12 hours of flying to Salina, Kansas, with a short fuel stop in Texas. A long day, but a good distance was covered as each leg brings the Vimy closer to its destiny: the recreation of the 1919 Alcock and Brown transatlantic flight from St. John's, Newfoundland.

The Vimy is expected to stay in Salina for a couple of days and then continue on the next leg of its journey to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, home of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

Saturday, May 21, 2005—While doing a bit of maintenance on the Vimy, the crew is visited again by many airplane enthusiasts and enjoys another day in beautiful Lake Havasu. The crew hopes to continue its journey tomorrow on its way to Salina, Kansas.

Friday, May 20, 2005—The Vimy has a layover in Lake Havasu and is joined by members from a local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

An article was printed in the Contra Costa Times after a surprise landing at Concord airport.

Please stay tuned as we will be chronicling the adventures across country and across the Atlantic as the Vimy makes its way into history once again!

Thursday, May 19, 2005, 8:03 a.m., PST—The Vimy took off from its home base—Gnoss Field in Novato, California—this morning on the first leg of its journey to St. John's, Newfoundland—the take-off point for the transatlantic crossing.

9:00 a.m., PST - The Vimy has to land in Concord, California, with visibility problems due to weather. The Vimy touches down in the middle of a B-17 anniversary celebration!

1:00 p.m., PST - Pilots Fossett and Rebholz are off again and make it to Lake Havasu, Arizona. Newspaper reporters arrived and interviews were given.

The Vimy plans to continue the journey from Lake Havasu on Saturday morning and head toward Kansas.

Arrival in Newfoundland is scheduled for the end the month to prepare for the challenging transatlantic flight between the second and third week of June.

Pilot Steve Fossett will fly the wood and canvas plane at a speed of only 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour), a far cry from the speed and conditions in which he recently attained his world record for circumnavigation of the globe in the jet-powered Virgin GlobalFlyer. True to the original flight, co-pilot/navigator Mark Rebholz will navigate the Atlantic crossing guided only by a sextant and compass—instruments available to Alcock and Brown in 1919.