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Fossett and antique airplane enthusiast Mark Rebholz, who jointly operated a custom-built replica Vickers Vimy, wanted to honor and emulate the June 1919 achievement of British pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown.

Both air crews flew from Newfoundland to Clifden in western Ireland using compasses and sextants for navigation. While Alcock and Whitten-Brown managed the feat in 16 hours, 20 minutes, Fossett and Rebholz took about about 45 minutes longer. And while the British pioneers crash-landed in a bog, their American successors landed smoothly on a local golf course.

Fossett, 60, who already holds world records in five pursuits -- in balloons, sailboats, gliders, airships and powered aircraft -- said the challenge this time was to operate an aircraft that had no modern power steering.

"This was an endurance test," Fossett said. "This airplane is very primitive. You have to keep your hands on the controls at all times. If you let go, the plane will go out of control."

Rebholz, 52, said they had "intentionally minimized the instrumentation on the plane" to try to replicate some of the challenges that faced Alcock and Whitten-Brown -- but conceded that use of a modern radio must have made them feel a lot more at ease.

"On the way over we were in contact with all the commercial airlines flying overhead," Rebholz said. "That is a comforting feeling, talking to other people while you're flying."

Still, Fossett said, both of them were wearing all-weather survival gear in case they had to crash-land in the Atlantic.

"We were doing not what would be called a safe flight," he said, "but basically a flight that was under control with an acceptable risk."

The pair left left St. John's, Newfoundland, at 7:20 p.m. local time (5:20 p.m. ET) Saturday and touched down near Clifden at 5:04 p.m. (10:04 a.m. ET) Sunday.

Fossett and Rebholz had hoped to take off June 14 -- the anniversary of Alcock and Whitten-Brown's flight -- but were grounded by bad weather and equipment problems.

"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see their near and dear bathed in tears, to ride their horses and sleep on the white bellies of their wives and daughters."
-Genghis Khan

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George S. Patton