Around the world on just one tank

Sustained by the last of his high-protein milk shakes and 20 minutes of sleep over three days, the billionaire Steve Fossett and his jet returned to the airstrip from which he had taken off 67 hours earlier and set an aviation first.

The 60-year-old financier-turned-adventurer, who collects world records as others collect supermarket loyalty points, added the feat of flying solo around the globe without refuelling to his collection by touching down in the depths of Kansas shortly after 7.48pm GMT (8.48am yesterday, New Zealand time).

A crowd of more than 10,000 cheered and 100 television cameras watched as GlobalFlyer, sponsored by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, dropped down at the end of its 37,000km journey to and from Salina, a town whose only previous claim to fame was as home to the world's largest frozen pizza factory.

The jubilant Fossett, who spent his journey with only centimetres to move in a 2.13m-long cockpit, said apart from a headache he had been largely unaffected by the rigours of being restricted to 10 two-minute naps and a diet of chocolate slimming milkshakes.

On the radio shortly before he brought the tri-fuselage craft back to terra firma, the former options trader said: "It has been a lot of work but I've been healthy and enjoyed the trip. I am really looking forward to getting there."

The 65-hour flight set three aviation records: the first and fastest solo circumnavigation without refuelling and two records for distance without landing, almost doubling the previous 20,168 km set by a B-52 bomber in 1962.

The feat brings to 65 the number of records in endurance and speed held by Fossett, who has spent the past decade testing his limits with feats such as swimming the Channel and driving Le Mans.

Such is the billionaire's enthusiasm across five sports (sailing, ballooning, gliding, aviation and skiing) that he also holds the world record for holding world records.

Experts said that despite the aid of cutting-edge technology, the return of the GlobalFlyer entered Fossett into the annals of aviation history alongside the likes of Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927, and Amelia Earhart, the Kansas-born pilot who repeated the feat five years later.

Dick Ionata, the assessor for the National Aeronautic Association, who confirmed Fossett's record shortly after landing, said: "This was the last great challenge in aviation. There have been periods when this record looked unassailable but now, through technology and one man's physical effort, it has been done."

The landing brought relief for Fossett's 45-strong ground crew, who had believed the record attempt was on the brink of failure after they found the GlobalFlyer had lost 1180kg of fuel. Staff said better-than-expected jetstream winds across the Pacific overcame the difficulty.

Perhaps the greatest sense of relief was among community leaders in Salina, who spent $54,700 on facilities in the hope that the flight would win the town fame and fortune.

Dina Horst, a school teacher and councillor, said: "All we've been known for is making pizzas and lightbulbs. Now we have a reason to be known around the world."

- Independent