Decision Near on Voyager Round-the-World Flight

Voyager, the experimental plane designed to fly nonstop around the world, completed its 60th test flight Wednesday, and project officials said they will decide in the next few days if they will have to delay the flight until spring.

At least two more test flights are needed to see if the Voyager aircraft, equipped with new propellers and reconditioned engines, is ready for pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager to attempt their 12-day flight.

Voyager officials had said earlier that if the departure were delayed past the end of November the flight would have to be postponed for several months because of seasonal weather patterns along the route. But spokesman Peter Riva said Wednesday that the “window” may still be open as late as mid-December.

The concern is over possibly severe air turbulence over South Africa and Australia and the need for a perfectly calm day on which the fuel-laden, spindly craft can take off from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert.

The latest reports indicate that the weather is better over South Africa than had been expected this late in the year, but worse over Australia, Riva said.

If the flight does not begin within the next week, he said a final decision will have to be made by Dec. 12 about postponing the flight until spring, at the earliest.