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Fossett makes history

Flying from horizon to horizon, Steve Fossett completed the first nonstop, flight round-the-world without refueling on Thursday afternoon, landing gracefully in Kansas at 2:49 pm ET.

A cheering crowd gathered to usher the GlobalFlyer and its 60-year-old pilot into the record books, something that has become almost routine for Fossett in recent years. The aviator now holds three record-breaking circumnavigations of the globe, the two others by balloon and sailboat.

Its something Ive wanted to do for a long time, Fossett said as he stepped out of the plane, his legs wobbly after nearly three days in the cockpit. It has been a major ambition of mine.

The sometimes tense journey across three oceans and dozens of countries began in Salina, Kansas, on Monday evening. The 25,000-mile voyage took 67 hours and two minutes. It was financed by Fossetts longtime friend and investor, Richard Branson, who heads Virgin Atlantic Airways.

As GlobalFlyer approached the airport, Fossett deployed small parachutes to slow the craft down.

After touching down smoothly, Fossett taxied the plane toward a hangar and Branson waved a black-and-white checkered flag as the jet came to a stop. Fossetts flight team opened a bottle of champagne onto the runway.

GlobalFlyer was built by Scaled Composites, the same firm that designed and launched the worlds first civilian manned spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, last year.