Flight of fancy

In the end, there was enough gas in the tank to see him home. Yesterday, Steve Fossett became the first person to complete a solo, non-stop, flight around the world. Such endeavours may seem eccentric in this age of global telecommunications and long-distance travel, but there is still something thrilling about records being broken and old challenges met.

In the end, there was enough gas in the tank to see him home. Yesterday, Steve Fossett became the first person to complete a solo, non-stop, flight around the world. Such endeavours may seem eccentric in this age of global telecommunications and long-distance travel, but there is still something thrilling about records being broken and old challenges met.

So congratulations to Mr Fossett - but we cannot help wishing that the technology had existed which would have allowed him to jet around the globe without emitting any harmful carbon emissions. How about making that the next great challenge for mankind?