It was weird to pick up the paper this morning and see the obituary for aviation adventurer Steve Fossett, over 5 months after he disappeared into the Nevada wilderness on a pleasure flight. Fossett, who was 63 when he vanished, was officially declared dead by a court in Illinois, after one of the most exhaustive search and rescued operations in years failed to find a trace of him or the Decathlon single-engine aircraft he was flying.  A self-made multi-millionaire, Fossett set numerous world records in all sorts of air vehicles, including balloons, sailplanes (gliders), and jet aircraft. Though some folks might say his exploits just proved that a person with lots of money can set as many adventure records as he can afford, I think Fossett's flights captured the world's attention and shone a positive light on aviation to the general public. Certainly feats such as his nonstop, two week solo balloon flight around the world in 2002, on his sixth attempt, showed courage and endurance that money can't buy.  Having learned to fly in college, I think his love of all things aviation was a lifetime passion for him, not just another pursuit to play with after he made his fortune. Only 63, you have to wonder how many more aviation records Fossett would have attempted. Being a good friend of Richard Branson, billionaire founder of the fledgling space tourist company Virgin Galactic, he was probably dreaming about going into space, either as a passenger, or more likely, as an active participant in some type of private space record.

People have still not stopped searching for him, and I think eventually his plane will be found, but it won't be easy. Having owned a Citabria, a sister-airplane to the Decathlon, I'm very familiar with the structure of the plane Fossett used on his final flight. If there was any type of fire after ground impact, there is probably not much left of the plane. Consisting primarily of a wood and tube structure covered with fabric, and some small amounts of aluminum, any type of fire would leave very little visible evidence of the Decathlon, especially from above.  (This is unlike many small aircraft, whose structures are made primarily of aluminum, so that even after a fire you have a fair amount of metal left.  Often that aluminum structure will reflect sunlight that catches the eye of a searcher.) This may be why the extensive search using private aircraft, government aircraft, and even satellite photos hasn't turned up anything yet. However, with a Decathlon, probably the only way the wreckage will be found is if a hiker or hunter stumbles upon it on the ground.

On a personal note, I know through a good friend that Fossett was thinking about setting an altitude record in a helicopter before he disappeared. My friend works for a company that makes flight helmets and oxygen masks, and Fossett made a visit just two weeks before his doomed flight to try on some flight equipment needed for the helicopter record attempt. My friend Barry described Fossett as a humble, likable guy, who upon meeting you would never guess was a famous adventurer and millionaire. Soon after Fossett's visit, Barry sent me a picture of he and a smiling Fossett in his office in southern California.  Looking at the picture, probably one of the last one's taken of Fossett before he was lost, you see the smiling, relaxed face of a casually dressed Fossett.  Less than two weeks later, he would be gone.