The finished plane weighed just nine hundred kilograms, about the weight of a small car. The full load of fuel weighed three times that much, about three thousand kilograms. Voyager was not built to be a fast plane. It flew about one hundred seventy-five kilometers an hour.
FRANK OLIVER: The main wing of the finished plane was more than thirty-three meters across. That is wider than the main wing on today's big passenger planes. The center part of the plane held the crew. And on either side of this body were two long fuel tanks.
In fact, almost all of the Voyager was a fuel tank. Seventeen separate containers were squeezed into every possible space. During the flight, the pilots had to move fuel from container to container to keep the plane balanced. One engine at each end of the body of the plane provided power.
The area for the two pilots was unbelievably small. It was just one meter wide by two-and-one-quarter meters long. The person flying the plane sat in the pilot's seat. The other person had to lie down at all times.
DOUG JOHNSON: After many test flights, the Voyager was finally ready in December, nineteen eighty-six. The best weather for flying around the world is from June to August. That time was far past. But the pilots were tired of delays. They made the decision to take off, knowing the weather might be bad.
On December fourteenth, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager walked around the plane one more time. It looked like a giant white flying insect. They were going to be trusting their lives to this strange plane for the next nine days.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25