Spirit of Endeavour is known to kids and adults alike as ‘GOOFY’ from its unique registration N-600FY which on the aircraft looks just like ‘GOOFY’
Here Steve is flying ‘GOOFY’ in the 2007 fly-past at Spruce Creek Fly-in leading the second wave of a close formation, with the smoke streaming from ‘GOOFY’ adding to the spectacle. Steve regularly flies formation displays for events such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Click on picture above (or the camera below) to open the video in a Windows Media Player window - GOOFY is the last aircraft to depart and is the aircraft with smoke.
Here ‘GOOFY’ is being lifted out of the soy beans ready to fold the wings and be placed on a trailer. This shows how easy it is to take the aircraft to off-airport events for promotional purposes.
On 1 Aug 2008, shortly after setting off on his round the world flight, Steve survived an engine-out forced landing in a soy bean field near Portsmouth Ohio. The brand new engine exploded whilst flying over the mountainous forests of southern Ohio (visible in the background) leaving Steve unable to reach the nearby airport. He made a textbook landing and amazingly there was not a ‘green mark’ anywhere on the aircraft.
Even before Steve started his record setting spree his aircraft was already in the record books as it was completed and received its airworthiness certificate on the 17 Dec 2003, the very day of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s first flight.
Now it also holds a record for the most FAI World Records ever set by a US registered homebuilt aircraft - 101 records.
