Steve Fossett missing..

[phippsj]

I have followed his ballooning and sailing record attempts since the early 90's. I recently read his autobiography "Chasing the Wind". This guy is an Eagle Scout, made his fortune in the markets and decided to spend the rest of his time and money chasing his personal goals.

For every world record he holds, he has had many failures, some of which nearly cost him his life. If anyone could survive in the Nevada high deserts and mountains, this guy will. Survivor Man and that Bear Whats-his-name has nothing on this guy.

My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. He will be found alive!

After reading his book, I made it a goal to meet him some day and ask him to sign it. I still believe that will happen.

More info on Steve at www.stevefossett.com.

[BreadBowl]

The ELT may have been turned off, or batteries could have been dead.

That was a problem with finding a friend of mine about a year ago, his ELT was inop and they didn't find his wreckage until a few days afterwards. I really hope that they find him alive. I don't want to be a pessimist, but it's not looking good. They may not be finding much if they're looking for a whole Super Decathlon out there somewhere.

Has there been any mention as to the nature of the flight, whether it be aerobatic, or just stick time? If he was out doing acro and something went wrong, he may have gotten out okay. I doubt that he would be wearing a parachute just for the hell of it.

[3daviator]

	Quote: Originally Posted by BreadBowl
	The ELT may have been turned off, or batteries could have been dead. That was a problem with finding a friend of mine about a year ago, his ELT was inop and they didn't find his wreckage until a few days afterwards. I really hope that they find him alive. I don't want to be a pessimist, but it's not looking good. They may not be finding much if they're looking for a whole Super Decathlon out there somewhere. Has there been any mention as to the nature of the flight, whether it be aerobatic, or just stick time? If he was out doing acro and something went wrong, he may have gotten out okay. I doubt that he would be wearing a parachute just for the hell of it.

The news reported he was out in search of a location for a land speed record attempt and had no parachute. Hopefully he's camping out waiting to be found.

[sweetpea]

Also reports that he didn't care for Acro

[toprudder]

No parachute. He was looking for dry lakebeds where he could possibly make a land speed record. As I understand it, he was not known for doing aerobatic flight.

[Dan_nO]

Seen this on the news a bit ago, and also went to CNN's website to make sure.....http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/06/fos...ing/index.html

Maj. Cynthia Ryan, who is leading the search, would not elaborate during a press conference that focused mostly on logistics.
The search has been expanded to 10,000 square miles, Ryan said. It had been 600 square miles.
"I was given some erroneous information early on," she said when asked why the perimeter had grown.
"The 600 was an off-the-top-of-the-head number by someone in operations section," Ryan said. "People are so busy trying to focus on the mission at hand, we didn't have a more accurate figure until last night."

[Twizlair]

Fossett wears a special edition Bretling watch that has a GPS locator in it that can be armed by the wearer. No report of activation yet. That means he did not have the watch or is in a position or situation in which he can not activate the GPS. Best wishes and prayers to his family.

[xtreem3d]

stan,
i didn't realize how remote the area was until i saw it on tv. so you guys are saying the gps in my nextel phone would not be the same as in the plane? in case of a 911 my phone could be located. it seems sort of crazy that his or any plane wouldn't have that capability, right?
steve

[A-Track]

	Quote: Originally Posted by xtreem3d
	stan, i didn't realize how remote the area was until i saw it on tv. so you guys are saying the gps in my nextel phone would not be the same as in the plane? in case of a 911 my phone could be located. it seems sort of crazy that his or any plane wouldn't have that capability, right? steve

GPS is a one way system, by that I mean it only transmits it's signal from the satelites and dosen't receive signals from portable GPS devices. The GPS in a cell phone determines it's position and then sends the coordinates via the cell phone network, so if your not in range of a cell tower the GPS in a cell phone is useless for someone trying locate you.

[xtreem3d]

o.k.... makes sense.

[toprudder]

	Quote: Originally Posted by A-Track
	GPS is a one way system, by that I mean it only transmits it's signal from the satelites and dosen't receive signals from portable GPS devices. The GPS in a cell phone determines it's position and then sends the coordinates via the cell phone network, so if your not in range of a cell tower the GPS in a cell phone is useless for someone trying locate you.

For some reason, I was under the impression that the "GPS" feature of some phones (911 location, for instance) was done by triangulation from the cell towers, not by actual GPS signals. Of course, I may be wrong.

ON EDIT: Apparently all new cell phones have true GPS capability. This was driven in part by the enhanced 911 services. It can be turned off by the user, however.

Bob R.

[Huckeneer]

I had no idea... please keep us updated