He's done it again!

Steve Fossett has broken yet another record. The number of records he has broken is now numbered in three figures. This time he has flown farther than any other person in a single journey in an aircraft - one-and-a-quarter-times round the world. He started off in Florida, circumnavigated the world and then flew on to land in Bournemouth, UK. There were upsets. Even before he took off there were worries about his fuel tanks leaking. Then turbulence over India nearly ended the mission. In a plane like his, designed for lightness so that the fuel would last out, turbulence could be catastrophic but he pulled through. Finally, as he flew over Shannon, Ireland, his generator gave out. He had about 25 minutes of battery power to keep his instruments going and so had to make a "Mayday" call so that an airport could be cleared for him to land. Air traffic control gave him the choice of Cardiff or Bournemouth. I don't know how much Mr Fossett knows of the political life of the UK, but it seems he chose - in my view wisely - not to land in Wales (the men all shag sheep there) but to take the option of Bournemouth. Apparently he had flown into that airport before and knew the area. Meanwhile all the media were waiting for him at his original planned destination in Manston, Kent. Shit happens. Eventually he was flown by private jet to Manston where he did the obligatory news conference and everyone was happy. But what good does this achievement really do? Mr Fossett is a legend in his own time - but probably only in his own time.