A piece of history

McCook balloonist John Kugler (left) shakes hands with Tim Cole of Greeley, Colo., designer and builder of the capsule (back) which carried aviator Steve Fossett into aviation history with his recent around-the-world solo balloon flight, the first in history. The capsule made a stop in McCook on Thursday night on its way to the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Exhibit in Oshkosh, Wis. The capsule measures 7 feet long by 51/2 feet wide by 51/2 feet tall, and will be donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. Fossett spent 356 hours and rode 18,485 miles inside the capsule.