Mr. McAfee bought the land in 2004 and then poured an estimated $11.5 million into building a complex that would accommodate visitors interested in aerotrekking, the flying of unlicensed, lightweight planes with open cockpits.
Last year he made the longest nonstop flight in aviation history: 26,389 miles in 76 hours, in a lightweight experimental plane.
In addition to the balloon record, he also made the longest nonstop flight in aviation history, traveling 26,389 miles in a lightweight experimental plane.
Last year, he completed the longest nonstop flight in aviation history, flying 26,389 miles in 76 hours in a lightweight experimental plane.
He also does combat flying, a newer version of the sport with lightweight plastic planes festooned with 30-foot streamers, out of Defense Hill Flying Field in Brookhaven once a month and flies float planes off the water at Lake Ronkonkoma.
Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, pilots navigate a low-level aerial track made up of air-filled pylons 80ft high at speeds of up to 230mph.
Enthusiasts build lightweight, unpowered planes called "gliders" or "sailplanes" to harness naturally occurring atmospheric conditions that can propel them great distances.
· A lightweight solar-powered plane broke the official world record for the longest-duration unmanned flight in September.
If the lightweight composite aircraft plane has been such a commercial success, it is because 787 uses 20% less fuel than older models and can do long-haul flights of up to 15,000 kilometres.
Mr. Fossett, who made a fortune trading commodities futures, disappeared in September 2007 after leaving a Nevada ranch in a lightweight single-engine plane for what was meant to be a short flight.
