Steve Fossett with GlobalFlyer. Steve Fossett (1944-2007), US aviator, businessman and adventurer, standing next to the cockpit of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft. The aircraft is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, Florida, USA, being prepared for Fossett's successful record-breaking longest flight made by any aircraft (February 2006). Fossett piloted this aircraft on several other record-breaking attempts, each time flying solo, non-stop, without refueling. Photographed in 2006.