Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer

Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
GlobalFlyer arriving at the Kennedy Space Center
General information
Type	Long-range aircraft for record attempt
Manufacturer	Scaled Composites
Designer	Burt Rutan
Status	retired
Primary user	Steve Fossett
Number built	1
Registration	N277SF
History
First flight	2005
Retired	March 17, 2006
Preserved at	National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center[1]

The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer (registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett first flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in slightly more than 67 hours (2 days 19 hours) in 2005. The flight speed of 342 miles per hour (550 km/h) set the world record for the fastest nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation, beating the mark set by the previous Rutan-designed Voyager aircraft at 9 days 3 minutes with an average speed of 116 miles per hour (187 km/h).

The aircraft was owned by the pilot Steve Fossett, sponsored by Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic airline, and built by Burt Rutan's company, Scaled Composites. The two companies subsequently worked together on Virgin Galactic.

In February 2006, Fossett flew the GlobalFlyer for the longest aircraft flight distance in history: 25,766 miles (41,466 km).