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To ensure you are seeing career content relevant to your location, please select your correct region using menu on the right. Find your Hybrid Solution that meets your individual needs. Tommaso Sgobba, Executive Director of the IAASS, claimed that Virgin Galactic had refused to let IAASS scientists review its procedures and snubbed industry gatherings. After surviving rough weather and the threat of late icebergs Challenger was fatally damaged by striking a submerged object 100 miles from Bishops Rock, the intended finishing line, and sank in heavy seas. A refit Virgin Atlantic Challenger II arrives in Fowey, England. There has been no independent oversight. In 1986, the tycoon made history,. Read about our approach to external linking. They set records which stood until 1991 when the pair flew the Pacific Ocean in another balloon. Millionaire Richard Branson has smashed the world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. Then we were overtaken by this thunderstorm and the sky turned black. listing agent, 22 Undaunted, Branson had a new trophy made, making it a challenge trophy open to any who could beat Virgin Atlantic Challenger's record. Dont have permissions to change browser? In its submission to the NTSB, Virgin Galactic says the second SS2, nearing completion, had been modified with an automatic mechanical inhibit device to prevent locking or unlocking of the feather during safety-critical phases. Alsbury was killed in the crash. The record-breaking powerboat that made Sir Richard Branson a household name is being sold for 725,000 after it was discovered rotting in a Spanish boatyard. Despite our wellcushioned seats the pain started at the bottom of your spine and travelled all the way up to your head. At 1:30 P.M. today, the Atlantic Challenger made her last refueling stop, 245 miles from the finish line. The Virgin Atlantic Challenger, a powerboat trying to beat the trans-Atlantic speed record of the liner United States, filled with water and sank just below the surface in stormy weather. In the years since we made that record voyage,Virgin Atlantic Challenger IIhas had several owners and attempts at refits. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? According to the article, the official said that nagging vibrations were "very distressing to pilots because they simply couldn't read their instruments"; Virgin Galactic denies this claim. 22 m. 2015-2023 Playton Ltd, 168 St Christopher Street Valletta Malta. Last year, the 64 aluminum catamaran Virgin Atlantic Challenger, powered by similar . "Richard and I were pinching ourselves.". [14] The feathering system requires two levers to operate. In public we were all gung-ho and ready for a fantastic adventure. "It's great to bring her back into British waters. Suddenly it would go quiet as the engines automatically cut out and you knew that there was going to be the most almighty crash when the boat re-entered the water. Even now I can still feel the pain. I never knew a boat and its engines could take so much punishment and still keep going. www.challengers2.co.uk. Even mtu diesels will not run on water so we had to drain the fuel tanks twice and refill them before we got mainly clean fuel coming through. It is not yet known whether Mr Branson will make a second attempt to claim the record. The 32-ton vessel overturned just 140 miles (224km) short of its target, the Isles of Scilly off Cornwall. The crew of Virgin Atlantic Challenger II reunites, 27 years after breaking the speed record for crossing the Atlantic. The water came from a mix up on board the refueling ship. He wasted no time in preparing for his second attempt at the Atlantic, with the Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, twelve months later. Richard Branson and crew after arriving in the Isles of Scilly in 1986, The record-breaking crew have been reunited to mark the restoration, Challenger II was found by Plymouth boatyard owner Dan Stevens in Majorca, Challenger II's interior in Majorca before the restoration, The newly restored Challenger II in Plymouth Sound, Dan Stevens: "I just did not want it go to scrap". The speedboat Virgin Atlantic Challenger has capsized in heavy seas off the south-west of England scuppering Richard Branson's attempt at the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing. You can read a first-hand accou. For years there were no buyers and then Dan Stevens, the owner of a boatyard in Plymouth, England, heard about it and negotiated its purchase. We were six young men wanting to break the stranglehold of the liners on the Atlantic record. Two hours inside the record Weekly quiz: Which house are Harry and Meghan vacating? The design would not be acceptable in other safety-critical industries, such as aircraft manufacture. Thanks to the weather Logan Airport's ground support equipment depends on series 92. Convinced by Lindstrand that a transatlantic hot-air balloon flight was both safe and achievable, the pair boarded the Virgin Atlantic Flyer in Sugarloaf on 2 July 1987. "[51], On November 13, 2014, the Wall Street Journal published an article discussing the history of safety and technical problems of the aircraft, citing unnamed engineers and a former government official involved with the project. The future of shipping is green. All rights reserved. of Fuel (N2O) in Mojave and New Mexico Spaceports, "CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV", "Mojave Jobs: Virgin Galactic Needs a Vice President of Safety", NTSB Investigates Virgin Galactic Test Flight Crash, Report discussing how Peter Siebold escaped from, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VSS_Enterprise_crash&oldid=1142566031, Aviation accidents and incidents in California, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2014, Space accidents and incidents in the United States, Aviation accidents and incidents caused by pilot error, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the National Transportation Safety Board, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 04:02. ''It was something hard - they still don't know what it was,'' said Mr. Powell. No matter what the Atlantic Challenger did, he said, he did not intend to hand over the trophy. We put the boat in the water and it ran like clockwork until the fuel stopped coming through from the tanks. mtu is a product and solution brand of Rolls-Royce, providing world-class power solutions and complete life-cycle support. Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, the boat that broke the Atlantic sea-crossing record in 1986, has been restored to its former glory after being found languishing in a Majorcan boatyard. We could already feel its effects on the increasing height of the waves but we had the speed to outrun the storm. They don't use modern techniques in putting safety into the design. Our fascination with hot-air balloons continues to this day, even without the publicity generated by the likes of Branson and Lindstrand in their constant pursuit of aviation records. Plymouth boatyard owner Dan Stevens and his team spent two months restoring Challenger II. [23], The vehicle in the accident, VSS Enterprise, registration N339SS, was the sole Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo test vehicle. [15] [7] The carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, landed safely. Video'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry. Did we really cross the Atlantic in that?, East Coast Airport Services keeps passengers moving, by Mike Contact us and tell us what youre looking for. [24] It was the first of the five SpaceShipTwo craft planned by Virgin Galactic. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The founder of Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson, veteran sailor Chay Blyth and the remaining seven crew are reported to be safe and well. The filters would cope until they became blocked and the engines would stop. His 72-ft powerboat, the Virgin Atlantic Challenger, reached the Bishop Rock off the Isles of Scilly just after 1930BST. What a disgrace! Explore our extended network. The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. By Jo Thomas, Special To the New York Times. Not bad after 10 years of not running. For more information, please read our Cookie Policy. Then the engines faltered and stopped. Instead, Scaled Composites "put all their eggs in the basket of the pilots doing it correctly. Despite rumours of new challengers with radical hull designs Destriero's record remains unbroken. Currently lying in the UK with delivery available globally, the 55knot icon was refitted in 2013 with only 930 engine hours since build. Currently lying in the UK with delivery available globally, the 55knot icon was refitted in 2013 with only 930 engine hours since build. An explicit warning about the dangers of premature unlocking has also been added to the checklist and operating handbook, and a formalized crew resource management (CRM) approach, already used by Virgin for its WK2 operations, is being adopted for SS2. In our tiny world we were completely isolated from the outside and just focusing on getting the job done. The combination "could have increased the co-pilot's stress." Sir Richard Branson returned to the helm of Challenger II in 2013, The boat was brought back from Majorca for refurbishment, It is powered by two 2,000HP diesel engines, Sir Richard Branson tweeted news of the sale to his followers, Sir Richard returned to the restored Challenger II in 2013. But then, 130 miles from the finish line in England, theVirgin Atlantic Challengersank. boats.com is part of the Boats Group Network. Marshallslan was to restore the boat and bring it back to the UK and I was asked to bring in my experience to help. In a statement on his website, he said: "I love Challenger II not only because it is a beautiful boat, but as it gave us a platform to challenge ourselves, push boundaries and embrace the spirit of adventure. "So you make the mistakeyou have a catastrophe. "A single-point human failure has to be anticipated," board member Robert Sumwalt said. Alex Smith is a journalist, copywriter and magazine editor with a long history in boating and a happy addiction to the water. [4] The test flight was the aircraft's first powered flight in nine months, and was to include the first flight testing of a new, more powerful and steadier-thrust hybrid rocket engine whose fuel grain was composed of nylon instead of rubber. performance at the world's highest mine. I couldnt let it go to scrap so I purchased it and took a team out to Palma where we stripped the fuel tanks, shoveled out the foam granules and lined the tank shells with composite to create new rigid tanks. Anyone can read what you share. He stated: "They operated in secrecy, which is difficult to understand. Fancy an adventure?". But instead of being showcased, the famous racing boat ended up in a shipyard on the Balearic Island of Majorca where it was found by British boating enthusiast Dan Stevens and restored to former glory. Seven hours before the second refueling stop, Mr. Toleman decided the boat was going too fast and consuming fuel too quickly. Late tonight, Mr. Branson and his crew, all smiling, stepped ashore at St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly. As a systems supplier, we not only provide you with the perfect propulsion system, but also with an automation system which is exactly adjusted to it. After another refueling stop in the mid-Atlantic we continued to power east. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Investigators said the developer of the spacecraft failed to include systems to protect against human error, believing that highly trained test pilots were simply incapable of making a wrong move,[39] and that co-pilot Michael Alsbury may have been influenced by time pressure, along with strong vibration and acceleration forces he had not experienced since his last powered test flight in April 2013. "We needed to come up with fun ways of promoting the airline, getting Virgin on the map," he said. The 1986 Transatlantic record breaker is for sale, in full commission, charter ready and coded for 12. Go away and do something they might be good at like selling mobile phones. It was bought by a sultan and later acquired by another owner who sailed with him on the Mediterranean. At approximately ten stories high, the Vandenberg is settled upright on her keel, with dive spots beginning at 40 feet down and concluding at 150 feet below the surface. The moment we saw the lighthouse of Bishop Rock and knew Weve made it! Everything became a blur. [32] The on-site investigation was scheduled to take four to seven days. Their aim was to beat the trans-Atlantic speed record of 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes set in 1952 by the American passenger liner United States and to recapture the Blue Riband Trophy for Britain. Ecki Rastig was the engineer, there to nurse the pair of 2,000 hp mtu 396 diesels that would power us across the ocean and Peter McCann of the BBC was there to record the event for posterity on his TV camera. But what I remember most clearly is that moment where we realized that we had made it. But the next year, Sir Richard in Challenger II beat the record by two hours in a time of three days, eight hours and 31 minutes. The only option was to keep going but with a 10 hour delay the chances of the record were minimal. The Virgin-branded vessel utilized solar power to boost the effect of the propane gas burners heating the air, while the two-man capsule was pressurized to allow the crew to survive at high altitudes. The storage bills stopped being paid so the yard put the boat up for auction and it was bought by Marshall Rice from the UK. [citation needed] There were several performance issues during the ship engine's development in 2012 and 2013. Happy as rarely before What makes a Guinness World Records title? What was wrong? Memories of the severe fatigue and pain of that epic crossing when we barely slept for three days as the boat bucked and tossed in the Atlantic waves. The $2.1 million Atlantic Challenger, a 65-foot-long twin-hulled vessel with two 2,000-horsepower engines, was reported still floating, submerged and bow-up, 138 miles from the finish line at the Bishop Rock Lighthouse in the Isles of Scilly, where champagne and the relatives of the crew were waiting. The Mayday message was sent out automatically by radio sets in the lifeboats. Your yachting style determines the kind of hybrid system that suits you best. Up to that moment the engines had run without missing a beat. "Everyone thought I was daft when I bought it, but I'm crazy about boats," he said. In 1986, we were a six man crew onVirgin Atlantic Challenger IIwith Richard Branson heading up the team. Further investigation showed that we had taken 4 tons of fuel on board and 8 tons of water during our refueling and it was the water that was getting to the engines. With some more work we had the boat up and running and as before it took just a couple of cranks of the engines before they fired up. The boat ran like clockwork on the 2,000 mile voyage back to the UK and this is where we arranged the reunion for the original crew. The flight was the aircraft's 55th, and its 35th free flight. Reminiscing about an eventful journey Adventurers meet again ", 1986: Branson beats Atlantic speed record, The best place to live in Plymouth revealed - as voted for by you, Working to find housing solutions for local people - David Worden, Honiton jobs: 10 full and part-time positions in the town right now, including at Homebase and Coffee#1, Why your Wetherspoon pints have exactly that much head, Plymouth Argyle fan banned from matches and fined for assaulting steward at Home Park, Devastating suicide of Paignton dad who helped others battle mental health, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, Why the disgraced lawyer was spared death penalty, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping is unveiling a new deputy - why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Our PowerBoat team brings you the news, views and reviews from around the world. Rolls-Royce plc 2023. Join our sessions to see how we can help you on your way to Net Zero. Ultrasonically tested, fully surveyed and with a range of 1,200 miles at 40 knots, the 2017 season sees her as the official Cowes Torquay Cowes start boat, the Falmouth-Sicilly Race official start boat and the Sonni Levi Tribute weekend attraction. They were started again and then stopped once more. "It was lovely to open it up to full throttle, the heart and soul is back in the boat, speed was what she was built for. [33] It was reported on November 12 that the on-site investigation had been completed and that parts of the wreckage had been placed in secure storage should they be needed for further investigation. The high-speed liner, out of service by 1985, had held the title for more than 30 years. The new ship crossed more than 3,000 miles across the North Atlantic at full throttle, cutting through fog with the threat of icebergs and a storm astern. [37] Aerodynamic forces when accelerating through the transonic moments of the flight, above Mach 0.85 and below Mach 1.34, push upwards on the tail; releasing the locks before the vehicle passes these speeds means that a pair of actuators were the only things keeping the tail in place against these powerful forces, which had unintentionally been sufficient on earlier test flights.[38]. A Go Team was dispatched to the accident site on October 31, 2014. We ran the boat as far as Palma where we intended to carry out a full refit but unfortunately Marshall Rice died of cancer and the project came to a halt. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. "I have done my bit and saved it," he said, adding he would make only a "small amount of money" from the sale. This boat is part of Britains maritime heritage, commented Stevens. Branson's first attempt on the record, in 65 ft twin-hull Virgin Atlantic Challenger, departed New York in June 1985. Then just a couple of miles away right on track the lighthouse was visible. boats.com, Office 31, Pure Offices, Port View, One Port Way, Port Solent, Hampshire, PO6 4TY. In response to this Branson decided to commission the new trophy, open to all challengers. GET IN TOUCH WITH A RECORD SPECIALIST (Opens in a new window), How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. Mr Branson completed the voyage more than two hours faster than the previous record-holder, the SS United States, which has . He based the boat in the South of France and used the boat just a few times every year to go to Majorca or along the coast. Branson, in a pensive mood, visits the boat after 27 years. About Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2 The 1986 Transatlantic record breaker is for sale, in full commission, charter ready and coded for 12. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The mtus would run intermittently, stopping perhaps every half hour as more water still came through the system but worse still, we were running out of fuel filters. He declined to say how much the restoration cost, but he believes the boat is good for more record breaking. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Dan Stevens restored the 72ft (22m) boat at his Plymouth boatyard after he spotted it languishing on the Mediterranean island. Record-breaking Challenger II is up for sale - three years after it was rescued from a Majorcan shipyard. The 32-ton vessel. The longest night out at sea "[47], Geoff Daly wrote to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in July 2013 describing his safety concerns over SpaceShipTwo. Weekly quiz: Which house are Harry and Meghan vacating? Tired beyond belief after 48 hours without sleep, battered by the constant movement of the boat and worried sick about the weather we all had to call on reserves we did not know existed. FacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagramLinkedInSnapchatPinterestTiktok, Registered Office: Ground Floor, The Rookery, 2 Dyott Street, London, WC1A 1DE, United Kingdom. That same year American businessman Tom Gentry made an attempt in his 110ft powerboat Gentry Eagle, (which cost $7 million in 1988[4] ($14million in 2021 dollars[5]) and was fitted with twin 3,480 hp MTU V396 TB94s turbocharged marine diesel engines, in addition to a single 4,500-horsepower Textron Lycoming TF40 marine turbine engine for a total of 11,500 horsepower)[6] but she was damaged by heavy seas off Newfoundland and forced to turn back. Siebold survived with serious injuries and was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital in nearby Lancaster. "She has a nice feeling about her and she's more than capable of 45 knots," he said. Having set the record, they took off again to avoid nearby power cables, eventually ditching the out-of-control Flyer in the Irish Sea. Check out our mtu Hybrid PropulsionPack configurator for yachts! After the record attempt she was taken to the Mediterranean where she was sold to Prince Rashid of Saudi Arabia. This will include call-outs and a challenge/response protocol. The navigation electronics had been renewed and there was new safety gear and a fireproof lining in the engine compartment but we settled into the same old seats that had cushioned the rough ride. Her crew of nine, including a yachtsman who had rowed the Atlantic and a millionaire sponsor whose experience was limited to a canal boat, were rescued unhurt by a British banana boat, the Geestbay, that lumbered along in answer to their calls of Mayday. Armed with new filters we kept heading east as fast as possible to run away from the storm. Sir Richard, who revisited the restored boat in 2013, tweeted: "My old record-breaking boat, Virgin Atlantic Challenger II is up for sale. Can you handle twin 2,000hp turbo diesels? ''If necessary,'' he said, ''we will stand arm-in-arm around the trophy to stop them taking it.''. Both were eventually rescued from the freezing water by the Royal Navy. Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, a 72 aluminum monohull powered by twin 2,000-hp. ''It has taken everything we have thrown at it, and the only weak link seems to be the crew. The first Challenger, commissioned by Sir Richard Branson to win the Blue Riband Transatlantic Challenge, sank off Cornwall in 1985 on its first attempt. Nearly 250,000 Detroit Diesel 2-Cycle engines are still going strong all over the world. [33], During a hearing in Washington D.C. on July 28, 2015,[34][35] and a press release on the same day,[36] the NTSB cited inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training, lack of rigorous federal oversight and a potentially anxious co-pilot without recent flight experience as important factors in the 2014 crash. Guinness World Records Kids (opens in a new window), GWR Merchandise Store (opens in a new window), Corporate Social Responsibility activities & fundraising ideas, Community engagement & tourism marketing activities. An investigation into the deadly crash of a Virgin Galactic spaceship has found that a function to help the craft descend into the atmosphere was deployed early, a federal safety official said on . m. Atlantic Rally for Cruisers starts this month, Virgin Atlantic Challenger II is now fully restored and ready to go to a good home, New outboard engines: Mercury Verado 350 and Verado 400R. Stepping on board afterso manyyears, the feeling of relief came flooding back. [3], On the day of the accident, Enterprise was performing a test flight powered flight 4 (PF04) in which it was dropped from the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port. I will remember that last night for a long, long time. [38] The NTSB investigators also found just one email, from 2010, and one presentation slide, from 2011, that even mentioned the risks of unlocking before completing the transonic stage of the acceleration. [23] It was expected to take about a year for the final report to be released. Principato. NTSB chairman Christopher Hart said that, as the Board had learned "with a high degree of certainty the events that resulted in the breakup", he hoped the investigation would prevent such an accident from happening again. There is written on their web-page: As this was a pre-production boat for the Military; the plans were not available to modellers. Video, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, More US ammunition to boost depleted Ukraine stock, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. [11], Several key employees had resigned from Virgin Galactic within the year leading up to the crash, including the Vice-President of Safety, Jon Turnipseed, and Vice-President of Propulsion, Thomas Markusic. ''They were going along very smoothly when suddenly there was a bang and they hit something,'' said Tim Powell, the project chairman, who talked with Mr. Toleman as soon as he arrived tonight at the Isles of Scilly, off southwest England. Then, in January 1991, less than four years after conquering the Atlantic Ocean, Branson and Lindstrand were accompanied by American millionaire Steve Fossett on the first hot-air balloon flight across the Pacific. The contest was unofficial, involving no set rules or tangible award, and was undertaken for the prestige the accolade brought. The NTSB said other important factors in the accident were inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training and lack of rigorous oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Thereafter the competition lapsed due to the rapid rise of transatlantic air travel, and United States herself was laid up in 1969. Plymouth . Initially it went well and Challenger seemed set to break the record. ''We took such a battering for at least 2,500 miles, and to get within just over 100 miles and for this to happen is such a tragedy. Before Richard Branson's attempt, the Blue Riband - the trophy for the fastest sea crossing of the Atlantic - had been held by SS United States. Memories of trying to get suitable weather predictions for our Atlantic record attempt. All of us could hardly believe our luck. The first manned hot-air balloon flight was made over 9 km (5.6 mi) and lasted 25 min, but the first chapter of aeronautical history had been written. Video, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, More US ammunition to boost depleted Ukraine stock, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. The VSS Enterprise crash occurred on October 31, 2014, when the VSS Enterprise, a SpaceShipTwo experimental spaceflight test vehicle operated by Virgin Galactic, suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup during a test flight and crashed in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California. [5][6], According to the NTSB briefing, SpaceShipTwo (SS2) dropped from the mother ship as planned and fired its new hybrid rocket engine normally. When he tired of the boat it was laid up in Beaulieu-sur-Mer where it sat out of the water for 10 years. After surviving rough weather and the threat of late icebergs Challenger was fatally damaged by striking a submerged object 100 miles from Bishops Rock, the intended finishing line, and sank in heavy seas. 2022 | All Rights Reserved By Powerboat Magazine, IMTRA INTRODUCES SLEIPNER eVISION THRUSTERS. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? After negotiating thick fog and the icebergs off the Newfoundland coast we made our second refueling stop on the Grand Banks. The system operates by rotating the vehicle's twin tail booms upward about the trailing edge of the wing by around 65 degrees; following reentry, the actuators rotate the booms down into the flush position for approach and landing. "What we see in the incident is what we call 'zero-failure tolerance'," Mr Sgobba said. ''Although none of us wants to go again, none of us will give up that easily. Rolls-Royce Siebold was not wearing a pressure suit. The original fuel tanks were constructed with a rubber bladder filled with foam which was supported in a wooden box. The model depicts the lighthouse and the rock itself. From one owner to the next However, the weather had other plans. Level 1: Home; Level 2: Explore our destinations; Level 3: Your current page is ; Our routes. The Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy is an award for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing by a surface vessel, one of several such awards that have grown out of the contest for the prestigious Blue Riband of the Atlantic. "There were hundreds of people lining the shore to greet us, it was like we had crossed the Atlantic again, and if people want to see it they can come to Fowey where it will be on display. Mojave Air and Space Port press conference on October 31, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. PDT involving: the Spaceport, Sheriff's Department, County Fire Department, Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic. This was a light weight solution but unfortunately the foam had deteriorated with age and the powdered foam was blocking the fuel lines.
Gilbert Artemus (Artie) Darrell