Finding Fosset

Various news sources are reporting that Steve Fosset is missing. A man famous for his adventuring in a wide array of venues, Mr Fosset holds world records for such things as having logged more flight miles than any other pilot, being the first man to fly a plane around the world solo without refueling, and being the first person to fly a balloon around the world solo. He took off from a private airfield on Monday morning in a single engine plane, and was reported missing Monday evening when he did not return.

For a person who has set more than a hundred records for a whole host of things, some sixty of which remain unbroken, this flight was just part of an ongoing search for further challenges. Mr Fosset seems to have taken this flight in an attempt to locate a dry lake bed that could be used to test a vehicle in which he apparently hopes to set the world land speed record. Flying from a private airfield in Nevada and using visual navigation, he was not required to file a flight plan, which has made locating him more difficult.

No Parking Zone

Both of the previous entries in the Crimes Against Machinery category here have covered the topic as it applies to automobiles. In particular, it has covered the topic as it applies to exorbitantly expensive automobiles. We lovers of machinery are not so limited in our tastes, however! We become indignant at the mistreatment of even much more mundane artifacts. Even machines which have reached the end of their designed life are worthy of respect and proper treatment.

Last week, the nation of India was host to a story to make any technology enthusiast distressed. The citizens of Mumbai awoke to discover a decommissioned Boeing 737 sitting in the road. After having its tail and wings removed, including the engines, it had been placed on a trailer to be transported to a flight school for use in training air crews. However, the driver took a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Faced with an overpass too low to go under, and the thirty meter length of the aircraft prohibiting any likelihood of backing up safely, the driver simply abandoned the load in the middle of the street.

The plane was left to languish for days as nobody took responsibility for it. The story eventually made the news after local residents became upset that the huge plane was interfering with local businesses. The municipal government was criticized for its apparent lack of interest in removing the plane. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the plane vanished. Nobody seems to have any idea where it went, or who was responsible for moving it.