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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / September 2007Help Us Find STEVE FOSSETT using your computer and your eyes.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In case you haven't heard, there's a world-wide effort to find Steve Fossett, and you can help without leaving the comfort of your computer desk. Below is everything you need to know to be part of the largest search ever undertaken, thanks to an amazing system called the Mechanical Turk that was developed by Amazon.com and uses satellite imagery supplied by DigitalGlobe and other providers. Follow the links to review new satellite imagery of the search area and instructions on how to possibly spot Fossett's plane. You can also look for a straight scrape in the ground, or maybe some letters created out of rocks or other material that someone on the ground might try to use as a signal. Use your imagination, and don't be shy about sounding the alert. http://www.mturk.com/mturk/preview?groupId=9TSZK4G35XEZJZG21T60&kw=Flash >In case you haven't heard, there's a world-wide effort to find Steve >Fossett, and you can help without leaving the comfort of your computer >desk. Below is everything you need to know to be part of the largest WTF is Steve Fossett and why are we meant to be looking for him? >>In case you haven't heard, there's a world-wide effort to find Steve >>Fossett, and you can help without leaving the comfort of your computer >>desk. Below is everything you need to know to be part of the largest > >WTF is Steve Fossett and why are we meant to be looking for him? Dead millionaire. Crashed a single engine airplane about a week ago. Searchers can't find the wreckage. > On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 05:40:34 +0200 (CEST), Nomen Nescio > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > WTF is Steve Fossett and why are we meant to be looking for him? Steve Fossett is among the world's greatest adventurers - and in his career he has set 115 new world records or world firsts, holding current official World Records in 5 sports. Between February 2005 and March 2006 Steve achieved the First Solo non- stop Round the World airplane flight, a follow-up 'Ultimate Flight' of over 41,000 kms, thus setting the record for the longest non-stop flight in aviation history plus a further world record RTW flight for absolute closed circuit distance (all in Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer). These three extraordinary airplane flights plus his First Solo balloon flight Round the World on Bud Light Spirit of Freedom (2002) were all milestones in aviation history. Additionally, during the solo, non-stop Round the World balloon flight Steve also covered 3,186 miles in a single 24 hour period - and hit a top speed of 200 miles per hour - flying faster than anyone ever had by manned balloon. On previous global attempts Steve achieved the first balloon crossing of the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, and the first ocean crossings of the South Atlantic, South Pacific and Indian Oceans. Steve Fossett is also the most successful Speed Sailor in the history of Sailing. His 2004 Round the World Record of 58 days 9 hours and 2001 TransAtlantic Record of 4 days 17 hours (both now superceded) were dramatic improvements over the previous records. Between 1993 and 2004 Fossett set 23 official world records in sailing (including 2 single-handed records), 11 of which still stand. In gliders Steve achieved the first 1500 Kilometer Triangle flight and the first 2000 Kilometer Out-and-Return flight. In the last 3 years he has set 10 of the 21 Glider Open World Records. Steve also holds Round the World records for medium weight airplanes (in both directions) as well as the U.S. transcontinental records for non-supersonic airplanes and unlimited turboprops. And in October 2004 Steve set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships! In addition, he has completed premier endurance sports events including the Iditarod, Ironman Triathlon, and the English Channel swim. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- From: g.gandalf@lycos.com (Gandalf) >>WTF is Steve Fossett and why are we meant to be looking for him? >Dead millionaire. Correction: Missing Pilot >Crashed a single engine airplane about a week ago. Correction: Condition of plane and pilot unknown. >Searchers can't find the wreckage. Correction: Searchers can't find location where plane went down. Personal note: If I said he was a missing cat, would you great humanitarians give a sh.t then? >>Dead millionaire. > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Correction: > Searchers can't find location where plane went down. Here are better questions: 1. Didn't he file a flight plan or give any idea where he was going? Perhaps take SOMEONE along with him? 2. Didn't the plane he was flying have an emergency or satellite transponder? With that shouldn't they have be able to locate him? IF he is lost that is. 3. For someone who is said to be so good at surviving shouldn't he have carried more survival supplies, cell/satellite phone or something? <sniff, sniff> Yes, I smell a media stunt especially since Barron Hilton - you know the dad of loser Paris "Media Whore" Hilton - is involved in the "search" effort. I bet SF is yucking it up in some "Hilton" hotel somewhere laughing at the people looking for him. Well see I guess. Tom I think this site sums it up fairly well - http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s3i24473 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- From: tom <me@privacy.net> >Here are better questions: OK, serious answers. >1. Didn't he file a flight plan or give any idea where he was going? No He did not file a flight plan, nor was he required to file a flight plan. A flight plan is only of value for a point to point trip. He was just heading out to look around. To see how useless a flight plan would be, look at the form at http://forms.faa.gov/forms/faa7233-1.pdf And Yes People had an idea where he was going. >Perhaps take SOMEONE along with him? Why? And it's only a 2 place plane. >2. Didn't the plane he was flying have an emergency or satellite >transponder? With that shouldn't they have be able to locate him? IF he >is lost that is. Yes. The plane had an old style ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) that transmits on 121.5 Mhz (aviation emergency freq.). No signal has been tracked, but any pilot will tell you that they are notoriously unreliable. He also may have been wearing a wristwatch with GPS tracking (a gift from Richard Branson). Again....nothing. >3. For someone who is said to be so good at surviving shouldn't he have >carried more survival supplies, cell/satellite phone or something? I've no idea what supplies he had with him. But I get the impression that he had little or nothing. Not sure if he had a cell phone, but I would doubt it. It probably wouldn't have been working in a remote area, anyway. Many planes carry a minimal survival kit (I carry a quart of water, 2 mylar blankets, a couple of fruit bars, a 10'x10' sheet of plastic, 20 ft of 400 lbs strength rope, a small ball of string, a magnesium fire starter, 3 1/2" folding knife, and a .357 magnum revolver with 12 rds. of ammo). The Decathlon is an aerobatic plane, so I would doubt it would regularly carry a "survival kit". ><sniff, sniff> Yes, I smell a media stunt especially since Barron Hilton >- you know the dad of loser Paris "Media Whore" Hilton - is involved in >the "search" effort. I bet SF is yucking it up in some "Hilton" hotel >somewhere laughing at the people looking for him. I'll bet you're right, and he's wearing your old tin foil hat so they can't track his brain waves. BTW, the only reason I bothered to answer is because some others may have the same questions, but don't consider this a joke. > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > plan. A flight plan is only of value for a point to point trip. He was > just heading out to look around. Not according to statement from http: //www.cbs8.com/stories/story.102590.html. Unless otherwise noted all other quotes and references some from this link. <quote> McMullen and other survival experts faulted Fossett for not filing a flight plan, which might have allowed searchers to focus on a smaller area. "The itinerary I filed for my 2001 hike saved my life," McMullen said. </unquote> <quote> Temperatures in the search area have been in the 80s and 90s, with lows in the 50s and 60s. Shelter from the sun would be just as important as water, McMullen said. McMullen knows what he's talking about. Six years ago, he found himself stranded with a severely sprained ankle for three nights in Death Valley National Park. He stayed in the shade of a tree until he was rescued by a military helicopter, with the help of a detailed itinerary he had left his wife. "You'll lose water faster than you can absorb it in heat, and that's why a shelter is so important," he said. </unquote> > People had an idea where he was going. > >>Perhaps take SOMEONE along with him? > > Why? Here's why: <quote> "He's either so injured he can't signal or he's perished," said David McMullen of Berkeley, Calif., a leader of the hiking group Desert Survivors, whose members frequently venture into some of the country's harshest terrain. "We still find people against all odds," she said. "Maybe he's got a couple of broken arms and can't signal." >/unquote> If he brought someone with him PERHAPS they could signal or not. > And it's only a 2 place plane. Which leaves room for "someone". At least ONE person that could help. >>2. Didn't the plane he was flying have an emergency or satellite >>transponder? With that shouldn't they have be able to locate him? IF he [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > with 12 rds. of ammo). The Decathlon is an aerobatic plane, so I would > doubt it would regularly carry a "survival kit". Considering this about the area he was going to: "People can go only two or three days without water in the summer, experts say, and Fossett would be hard-pressed to find water in unfamiliar country, even if he was in good health. Nevada, the driest state in the nation with less than 10 inches of precipitation a year, had an unusually dry winter, and stream flows usually diminish by the late summer even in wet years." He had no reason without proper preparation going into the area he did. Which indicates either he is an idiot - think Darwin awards who deserves to die because of stupidity if he did actually go into this area unprepared - or he really never went and this IS a stunt of some kind to get his name in the media. > I'll bet you're right, and he's wearing your old tin foil hat so they > can't track his brain waves. What? tin foil hats have to do with goverment conspiricies, and such. This has nothing to do with that but with someone who probably staged something to get his name in the media. At least I hope that is what he did. Otherwise he is dead because of his own - and no one elses stupidity. By the way you really are an idiot. > BTW, the only reason I bothered to answer is because some others may > have the same questions, but don't consider this a joke. No you answered because you are a moron and could not resist. I don't consider it a joke but I consider you and Steve F a joke until such time that he is found dead or alive that turns out to be NOT a part of some media stunt. tom -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- From: tom <me@privacy.net> >McMullen and other survival experts faulted Fossett for not filing a >flight plan, which might have allowed searchers to focus on a smaller >area. <snip> >McMullen knows what he's talking about. Six years ago, he found himself >stranded with a severely sprained ankle for three nights in Death Valley >National Park. That's the best laugh I've had all day. A "survival expert" stranded for 3 days with a sprained ankle. The pansy would have probably required rescue if he broke a toenail. If he ever writes a book on wilderness survival, I've got the perfect title for it.................."HEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" >"He's either so injured he can't signal or he's perished," said David >McMullen of Berkeley, Calif., a leader of the hiking group Desert >Survivors sh.t, this just keeps getting better. "Desert Survivors" I love irony. >whose members frequently venture into some of the country's >harshest terrain. I'd bet they couldn't make it to "Starbucks" and back without calling an ambulance. I gotta E-mail your post to a friend of mine. He'll probably pee himself laughing. A few years ago he finished climbing the last 100 ft of an ice cliff with a broken wrist. > Here are better questions: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > 3. For someone who is said to be so good at surviving shouldn't he have > carried more survival supplies, cell/satellite phone or something? [H&B snipped from groups line] At least one good thing has come of this so far. Shortly after Fossett went missing the Civil Air Patrol did their search of his expected flight path. This time, when they detected an ELT that was on the air by accident, I've been led to believe that they sent someone to investigate and actually took steps to get the problems remedied. This has been a problem for a long time - ELT's going off when a plane taxies over a bump too fast, etc. Maybe the CAP showing up in your hangar to discuss why your ELT is transmitting might get a few more pilots to actually pay attention to their ELTs. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- From: Daniel Mahoney <dan@catfolks.net> >At least one good thing has come of this so far. Shortly after Fossett >went missing the Civil Air Patrol did their search of his expected flight [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >ELT is transmitting might get a few more pilots to actually pay attention >to their ELTs. You're supposed to check your ELT at the end of the flight to insure that a hard landing didn't set it off (I've never made one of those, myself, but I hear rumors that they do occur :) ). As I've said, they're very unreliable. I heard a story a while ago about a plane that made a gear up landing.........trashed to plane............ELT never went off. Two years later, someone walked by the (yet to be repaired) airframe and slapped it with the palm of his hand..........The old ELT activated. > At least one good thing has come of this so far. Shortly after Fossett > went missing the Civil Air Patrol did their search of his expected flight [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > ELT is transmitting might get a few more pilots to actually pay attention > to their ELTs. English?? :) Are these electronic signals that go off when a plane is in trouble? Joyce > English?? :) > > Are these electronic signals that go off when a plane is in trouble? > > Joyce Yep. ELTs (emergency locater transmitters) turn on automatically when they experience a jolt in excess of so many g-forces. When they turn on they transmit a warbling signal on 121.5 MHz. A lot of pilots accidentally turn them on by bumping the test switch, or by taking a bump too hard, and don't notice because they don't listen to the emergency frequency. It's not at all unusual to hear ELT signals coming from hangars and tie-down areas when the plane sending the signal is not in distress. > > Are these electronic signals that go off when a plane is in trouble? > Yep. ELTs (emergency locater transmitters) turn on automatically when they > experience a jolt in excess of so many g-forces. When they turn on they > transmit a warbling signal on 121.5 MHz. A lot of pilots accidentally turn > them on by bumping the test switch, or by taking a bump too hard, and > don't notice because they don't listen to the emergency frequency. > It's not at all unusual to hear ELT signals coming from hangars and > tie-down areas when the plane sending the signal is not in distress. Thanks for the explanation. I wonder what causes them to go off in the hangar? Joyce >>> Are these electronic signals that go off when a plane is in trouble? > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Joyce They don't go off in the hangar, they go off from a hard landing or taxiing over a bump or the pilot accidentally elbows the switch on while doing checklists or whatever. Then the pilot will return the plane to the hangar without having listened to 121.5 and the ELT remains on until the emergency crew arrives. Aaargh.  SignatureBritta Purring is an automatic safety valve device for dealing with happiness overflow. Check out pictures of Vino at: http://picasaweb.google.com/badwilson
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