"Gear: Check. Fuel: Check. Hubris: uh, we got a problem here with the Hubris levels..."

Really, really rich s.o.b. Steve Fossett is, as I write, flying non-stop around the world. Or attempting to.

Yesterday when asked to make some comments on the flight he said, "I am the ultimate test pilot."

I'm sorry. Come again?

There are a bunch of old test pilots who read this, and I'm sure they each blew coffee, or bourbon - or whatever it is old test pilots drink while they read - out their noses.

There's been a whole lotta un-be-lieve-able flying done by a cadre of seriously tough, smart people. Test pilots have been put through an enormous amount to advance aviation. Much of it shoe-string. Much of it doing things that they couldn't prove would work until they went up in the air and tried it. There are a lot of test pilots dead well before their time.

Fossett, while he is indeed on a delicate, challenging mission, is flying a single seat jet of the most futuristic design, with the most advanced set of instruments, in constant contact with dozens of troubleshooters, with crews on all continents, and boats ready to scramble, all financed by Richard Branson.

Look outside yourself, Steve...