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“SOARING VISIONS” by Jessica Kuzmier
The bubbly was poured as Sir Richard Branson greeted his friend, Steve Fossett. The 60-year-old adventurer had just become the first person to undertake a solo flight circumnavigating the globe without fueling. Branson took the champagne and christened his friend with it, baptizing him in the sweetness of his victory. Fossett touched down in Salina, Kansas at 1:50 pm, March 3, 2005 after completing a journey of 67 hours and 23,000 miles. He spent the whole time in a cramped space of a 7'7" cockpit, no bigger than the average closet; his meals consisted of diet shakes and nutrition bars. There had been some doubt about his even completing the circumnavigation without refueling: a discrepancy between the fuel sensors and the readings of the tanks indicated he had less fuel than he originally thought. But a lucky break from tail winds in the Pacific, plus fuel shifting in a couple of tanks allowed the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer to be carried to victory in Salina. Adventures like this can be puzzling to those who don't undertake them. The day Fossett landed in Salina, I heard a reporter talking to an "expert" about people who undertake these feats. The reporter was baffled as to why someone would want to be scrunched in a cockpit that little for so long with that absurd diet. Surely someone with the kind of money like Fossett had would have enough dough to sit on a beach in Tahiti, but instead he was doing this crazy thing like some wired-out college student. The reporter and the expert conferred on the motivation of these undertakings; both people didn't seem to know what was going on in Fossett's mind. The reporter then suggested that perhaps science was the motivation, as though Branson and Fossett have donated their lives as being test dummies for large engineering companies. The "expert" seemed to agree with the reporter; so many great findings are compiled from these stunts. Aerodynamics and physics benefit greatly by these undertakings. Presumably satisfied as to the psychological makeup of the adventurer, they continued talking about other aspects of Fossett's trip. Surely, science, as well as other areas, benefits to some extent from these trips. William and Clark's adventures were mostly surverying missions for the government. Their findings led to the government's ability to map the Continental United States from the Louisiana Purchase westward. Sir Richard Branson, being the owner of Virgin Airlines, must surely know the practical end of the extreme adventure. But usually, the adventurer has motivations other than utilitarian objectives, whether to hike the Appalachian Trail, drive around the Untied States and live in a vehicle, or fly around the world in a balloon; another feat that Steve Fossett has accomplished. To the adventurers themselves it can seem as natural a goal as obtaining a college degree or getting a promotion in a law office. It is a simply a goal to accomplish, to test one's abilities and to see how far one can go. The adage of "he climbed the mountain because it was there" may ring more true than any other practical-sounding supposition. The reality is that the adventurer is simply compelled to do what he/she does. It doesn't make sense not to do it. If there is a means to be able to undertake extreme sports, a wild trip, or a way to break out of the ordinary, and the person just simply wants to see if he/she can accomplish this "wild"task, there doesn't seem to be any compelling reason not to do it, other than not seeming "normal". But to the subculture of adventurers, adventure is what is "normal", and it seems unnatural to deny themselves what they really want to do. In the case of Branson and Fossett, who are richer than practically everyone in the planet, the plethora of funds available to them makes the options all that more wide open. Hence, balloon rides around the world and custom-built planes to undertake solo adventures. To the question of "why do they do it?", the answer simply is, "Well, why not?"  |