Fly around the world in a Helicopter
Jennifer Murray, Helicopter Polar Record Breaker
First Woman to Fly Around the World & to both Poles in a Helicopter
Jennifer Murray has twice flown round the world in an R44 helicopter, and completed the first ever rotary flight round the world via the North & South Poles.
In 1997 Jennifer Murray entered the Guinness Book of Records as the first woman to fly round the world in a helicopter.
Three years later she became the first woman to pilot a helicopter solo round the world.
The following year she entered the London to Sydney Air Race, coming third and setting a new helicopter world speed record.
Then in 2007 she and co-pilot Colin Bodill completed the first circumnavigation of the world via both poles.
She did not learn to fly a helicopter until the age of 54.
In 1997 she flew around the world in a Robinson R44 helicopter, together with Quentin Smith(‘Q’) who had taught her to fly helicopters.
Solo Circumnavigation
Jennifer’s real dream was to fly around the world solo, and after extensive preparations, she managed this in 2000, again in an R44.
She was accompanied by Colin Bodill, who flew a microlight round the world at the same time, also gaining a record, and ‘Q’ who flew a back-up R44 helicopter.
Jennifer had another world record!
Crashing in Antarctica
Colin Bodill then got his helicopter licence, and he accompanied Jennifer in the London to Sydney Air Race.
The two adventurers then decided to try to fly round the world in a helicopter via both poles, a feat which had never yet been achieved.
They began in late 2003, flying a Bell B407 helicopter. But in December of that year, after reaching the South Pole, they crashed in white-out conditions.
Both were injured and the helicopter was completely destroyed.
But after being rescued, the intrepid pair vowed to try the same feat again.
Successful Polar Circumnavigation
After a great deal of difficulty, they managed to fly for the second time in late 2006, and successfully completed the polar circumnavigation in May 2007.
Again they entered the record books.
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World Flight
Followin in the footsteps of the great aviators.
12/19/10
Jennifer Murray
Fly around the world in a Helicopter
Jennifer Murray, Helicopter Polar Record Breaker
First Woman to Fly Around the World & to both Poles in a Helicopter
Jennifer Murray has twice flown round the world in an R44 helicopter, and completed the first ever rotary flight round the world via the North & South Poles.
In 1997 Jennifer Murray entered the Guinness Book of Records as the first woman to fly round the world in a helicopter.
Three years later she became the first woman to pilot a helicopter solo round the world.
The following year she entered the London to Sydney Air Race, coming third and setting a new helicopter world speed record.
Then in 2007 she and co-pilot Colin Bodill completed the first circumnavigation of the world via both poles.
She did not learn to fly a helicopter until the age of 54.
In 1997 she flew around the world in a Robinson R44 helicopter, together with Quentin Smith(‘Q’) who had taught her to fly helicopters.
Solo Circumnavigation
Jennifer’s real dream was to fly around the world solo, and after extensive preparations, she managed this in 2000, again in an R44.
She was accompanied by Colin Bodill, who flew a microlight round the world at the same time, also gaining a record, and ‘Q’ who flew a back-up R44 helicopter.
Jennifer had another world record!
Crashing in Antarctica
Colin Bodill then got his helicopter licence, and he accompanied Jennifer in the London to Sydney Air Race.
The two adventurers then decided to try to fly round the world in a helicopter via both poles, a feat which had never yet been achieved.
They began in late 2003, flying a Bell B407 helicopter. But in December of that year, after reaching the South Pole, they crashed in white-out conditions.
Both were injured and the helicopter was completely destroyed.
But after being rescued, the intrepid pair vowed to try the same feat again.
Successful Polar Circumnavigation
After a great deal of difficulty, they managed to fly for the second time in late 2006, and successfully completed the polar circumnavigation in May 2007.
Again they entered the record books.
Back to Main Page
Jennifer Murray, Helicopter Polar Record Breaker
First Woman to Fly Around the World & to both Poles in a Helicopter
Jennifer Murray has twice flown round the world in an R44 helicopter, and completed the first ever rotary flight round the world via the North & South Poles.
In 1997 Jennifer Murray entered the Guinness Book of Records as the first woman to fly round the world in a helicopter.
Three years later she became the first woman to pilot a helicopter solo round the world.
The following year she entered the London to Sydney Air Race, coming third and setting a new helicopter world speed record.
Then in 2007 she and co-pilot Colin Bodill completed the first circumnavigation of the world via both poles.
She did not learn to fly a helicopter until the age of 54.
In 1997 she flew around the world in a Robinson R44 helicopter, together with Quentin Smith(‘Q’) who had taught her to fly helicopters.
Solo Circumnavigation
Jennifer’s real dream was to fly around the world solo, and after extensive preparations, she managed this in 2000, again in an R44.
She was accompanied by Colin Bodill, who flew a microlight round the world at the same time, also gaining a record, and ‘Q’ who flew a back-up R44 helicopter.
Jennifer had another world record!
Crashing in Antarctica
Colin Bodill then got his helicopter licence, and he accompanied Jennifer in the London to Sydney Air Race.
The two adventurers then decided to try to fly round the world in a helicopter via both poles, a feat which had never yet been achieved.
They began in late 2003, flying a Bell B407 helicopter. But in December of that year, after reaching the South Pole, they crashed in white-out conditions.
Both were injured and the helicopter was completely destroyed.
But after being rescued, the intrepid pair vowed to try the same feat again.
Successful Polar Circumnavigation
After a great deal of difficulty, they managed to fly for the second time in late 2006, and successfully completed the polar circumnavigation in May 2007.
Again they entered the record books.
Back to Main Page
12/14/10
England to Australia flight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 1919 the Commonwealth Government of Australia offered a prize of £10,000 for the first flight by Australians in an aircraft of British Empire manufacture from Hounslow or Calshot in England to Australia accomplished within 720 hours (30 days).
Of a total of six entries that started the race, the winner was a Vickers Vimy bomber flown by a pair of brothers.
Vickers entered a Vimy bomber, registered G-EAOU, (the registration being whimsically said to stand for "God 'elp all of us"), crewed by Captain Ross Macpherson Smith with his brother Lieutenant Keith Macpherson Smith as co-pilot and mechanics Sergeant W.H. (Wally) Shiers and J.M. (Jim) Bennett.
Their plane left Hounslow at 8am on 12 November 1919. It flew via Lyon, Rome, Cairo, Damascus, Basra, Karachi, Delhi, Calcutta, Akyab, Rangoon racecourse, Singora (Songkhla) (in Siam unscheduled in heavy rain), Singapore, Batavia and Surabaya where the aircraft was bogged and had to make use of a temporary airstrip made from bamboo mats, reaching Darwin at 4.10pm on 10 December 1919.
The flight distance was estimated as 17,911 kilometres (11,123 mi) and total flying time was 135 hours 55 minutes (131.8 km/h or 81.9 mph). The Smith brothers each received a knighthood for this exploit and the company presented their aircraft to the Australian government.
It was placed on display in Adelaide. The prize money was shared between the Smith brothers and the two mechanics.
The last to depart for the contest, and the only other entry to actually make it to Australia was a de Havilland DH9 G-EAQM under the command of Lieutenant Ray Parer, with co-pilot Lieutenant John C. McIntosh.
They departed from London on 8 January 1920 and completed their flight in an epic 206 days later, earning Parer the sobriquet "Battling Ray".
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In 1919 the Commonwealth Government of Australia offered a prize of £10,000 for the first flight by Australians in an aircraft of British Empire manufacture from Hounslow or Calshot in England to Australia accomplished within 720 hours (30 days).
Of a total of six entries that started the race, the winner was a Vickers Vimy bomber flown by a pair of brothers.
Vickers entered a Vimy bomber, registered G-EAOU, (the registration being whimsically said to stand for "God 'elp all of us"), crewed by Captain Ross Macpherson Smith with his brother Lieutenant Keith Macpherson Smith as co-pilot and mechanics Sergeant W.H. (Wally) Shiers and J.M. (Jim) Bennett.
Their plane left Hounslow at 8am on 12 November 1919. It flew via Lyon, Rome, Cairo, Damascus, Basra, Karachi, Delhi, Calcutta, Akyab, Rangoon racecourse, Singora (Songkhla) (in Siam unscheduled in heavy rain), Singapore, Batavia and Surabaya where the aircraft was bogged and had to make use of a temporary airstrip made from bamboo mats, reaching Darwin at 4.10pm on 10 December 1919.
The flight distance was estimated as 17,911 kilometres (11,123 mi) and total flying time was 135 hours 55 minutes (131.8 km/h or 81.9 mph). The Smith brothers each received a knighthood for this exploit and the company presented their aircraft to the Australian government.
It was placed on display in Adelaide. The prize money was shared between the Smith brothers and the two mechanics.
The last to depart for the contest, and the only other entry to actually make it to Australia was a de Havilland DH9 G-EAQM under the command of Lieutenant Ray Parer, with co-pilot Lieutenant John C. McIntosh.
They departed from London on 8 January 1920 and completed their flight in an epic 206 days later, earning Parer the sobriquet "Battling Ray".
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12/11/10
Per Lindstrand
Lindstrand Balloons
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Per Lindstrand (born in 1948) is a Swedish aeronautical engineer, pilot and adventurer.
He is particularly known for his series of record-breaking trans-oceanic hot air balloon flights and, later, attempts to be the first to fly a Rozière balloon around the Earth
- all with British entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson.
Sir Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand
Lindstrand Balloons is a manufacturer of hot air balloons and other aerostats.
The company was started by Swedish-born pilot and aeronautical designer Per Lindstrand in Oswestry,
England, as Colt Balloons (later Thunder & Colt Balloons, then Lindstrand Balloons) in 1978.
Lindstrand Balloons is known for its leading-edge engineering, which includes sophisticated testing and production facilities.
Lindstrand Balloons designed and built all of the hot air balloons flown by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson on their record breaking flights first across the Atlantic Ocean in 1987 and then the Pacific Ocean in 1990.
Lindstrand's then designed and built three Rozière balloons that Per Lindstrand and Branson (and others, including aeronautical engineer Alex Ritchie, and adventurer, Steve Fossett) used in their unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the Earth by balloon.
Per Lindstrand played an instrumental role in making these flights possible, and was pilot for all of them.
Record flights
A 1998 attempt at an around-the-world balloon flight by Branson, Fossett, and Lindstrand ends in the Pacific Ocean on December 25, 1998.
From early in his business career, Lindstrand's main interest and ambition lay in pushing the boundaries of lighter-than-air technology and he subsequently captured every absolute world record for hot air balloon flight.
In January 1991, in the Virgin Pacific Flyer (a hot air balloon measuring 74,000 m³ (2,600,300 ft³), designed and built by Thunder & Colt), Lindstrand and Branson completed the longest flight in lighter-than-air history when they flew 6761 miles from Japan to Northern Canada.
Their flight set two new world records for distance and duration and they broke their own ground speed record, recording 245 mph (395 km/h).
The Virgin Pacific Flyer still remains the largest hot air balloon ever built.
In an attempt to be the first to fly a balloon of any type around the world, in December 1998.
Lindstrand, partnered by Richard Branson and Steve Fossett, flew for 7 days and covered over 20,000 km in a Rozière balloon, launching from Morocco and landing in the Pacific Ocean near to rescue services in Hawaii.
Rather less successful was his attempt in 1983 to achieve the world altitude record for hot-air balloons.
Sponsored by the English and Welsh Milk Industry, a vast balloon emblazoned with "Milk's Gotta Lotta Bottle" was prepared for launch to be broadcast on live television early one Saturday morning.
Adverse weather conditions led to the mission being aborted: instead viewers were treated to a horrifying spectacle when the balloon filled with air whilst being towed along the ground.
Lindstrand, holding one of the ropes, was lifted 30 feet into the air and had to make a vital decision: did he let go and fall from that dangerous height or hold on and risk having to drop from an even greater height?
He let go and viewers saw his alarming fall and heard the sickening thud as he hit the ground.
Mercifully, his only injury was a dislocated shoulder.
Source: Wikipedia
Back to Main Page
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Per Lindstrand (born in 1948) is a Swedish aeronautical engineer, pilot and adventurer.
He is particularly known for his series of record-breaking trans-oceanic hot air balloon flights and, later, attempts to be the first to fly a Rozière balloon around the Earth
- all with British entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson.
Lindstrand Balloons is a manufacturer of hot air balloons and other aerostats.
The company was started by Swedish-born pilot and aeronautical designer Per Lindstrand in Oswestry,
England, as Colt Balloons (later Thunder & Colt Balloons, then Lindstrand Balloons) in 1978.
Lindstrand Balloons is known for its leading-edge engineering, which includes sophisticated testing and production facilities.
Lindstrand Balloons designed and built all of the hot air balloons flown by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson on their record breaking flights first across the Atlantic Ocean in 1987 and then the Pacific Ocean in 1990.
Lindstrand's then designed and built three Rozière balloons that Per Lindstrand and Branson (and others, including aeronautical engineer Alex Ritchie, and adventurer, Steve Fossett) used in their unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the Earth by balloon.
Per Lindstrand played an instrumental role in making these flights possible, and was pilot for all of them.
Record flights
A 1998 attempt at an around-the-world balloon flight by Branson, Fossett, and Lindstrand ends in the Pacific Ocean on December 25, 1998.
From early in his business career, Lindstrand's main interest and ambition lay in pushing the boundaries of lighter-than-air technology and he subsequently captured every absolute world record for hot air balloon flight.
In January 1991, in the Virgin Pacific Flyer (a hot air balloon measuring 74,000 m³ (2,600,300 ft³), designed and built by Thunder & Colt), Lindstrand and Branson completed the longest flight in lighter-than-air history when they flew 6761 miles from Japan to Northern Canada.
Their flight set two new world records for distance and duration and they broke their own ground speed record, recording 245 mph (395 km/h).
The Virgin Pacific Flyer still remains the largest hot air balloon ever built.
In an attempt to be the first to fly a balloon of any type around the world, in December 1998.
Lindstrand, partnered by Richard Branson and Steve Fossett, flew for 7 days and covered over 20,000 km in a Rozière balloon, launching from Morocco and landing in the Pacific Ocean near to rescue services in Hawaii.
Rather less successful was his attempt in 1983 to achieve the world altitude record for hot-air balloons.
Sponsored by the English and Welsh Milk Industry, a vast balloon emblazoned with "Milk's Gotta Lotta Bottle" was prepared for launch to be broadcast on live television early one Saturday morning.
Adverse weather conditions led to the mission being aborted: instead viewers were treated to a horrifying spectacle when the balloon filled with air whilst being towed along the ground.
Lindstrand, holding one of the ropes, was lifted 30 feet into the air and had to make a vital decision: did he let go and fall from that dangerous height or hold on and risk having to drop from an even greater height?
He let go and viewers saw his alarming fall and heard the sickening thud as he hit the ground.
Mercifully, his only injury was a dislocated shoulder.
Source: Wikipedia
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12/10/10
Boeing 747SP
There were 3 significant commercial around-the-world record-setting flights flown by 747SP.
Two operated by Pan Am and the other operated by United Airlines with the aircraft being "loaned" to Friendship Foundation.
(In order to raise money for the foundation).
Those flights are:
Liberty Bell Express
— Flown from New York/JFK May 1-May 3, 1976. 2 stopovers at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Tokyo-Haneda Airport.
The round-the-world flight took 46 hours and 26 minutes over 23,137 miles.
During the mid-1970s, two Pan Am flights operated around the world to set or break previous around-the-world flying records.
Liberty Bell Express, a Boeing 747SP-21 named Clipper Liberty Bell with registration number N533PA, broke the commercial around-the-world record, set by a Flying Tiger Line Boeing 707, with a new record of 46 hours, 50 seconds.
The flight left New York-JFK on May 1, 1976, and returned on May 3, 1976.
The flight made only two stopovers during the journey, one in New Delhi and the other in Tokyo-Haneda, where a two-hour delay was made because of a strike among the airport workers.
Nevertheless, the flight beat the Flying Tiger Line's old record by 16 hours and 24 minutes.
Pan Am Flight 50
—to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pan Am.
Flown 28–30 October 1977 from San Francisco/SFO, with a time duration of 54 hours, 7 minutes, 12 seconds.
3 stopovers at London-Heathrow Airport, Cape Town International Airport and Auckland Airport.
Flight 50 flew over both the North Pole and the South Pole.
In order to commemorate Pan Am's 50th birthday, the airline organized another around-the-world flight, this time over the North Pole and the South Pole and including three stopovers: in London-Heathrow, Cape Town and Auckland, before going back to its origin—San Francisco.
The 747SP-21 used, Clipper New Horizons, was the former Liberty Bell, making the plane the only one to go around the globe over the Equator (as Liberty Bell) and the Poles (as New Horizons).
The flight made it in 54 hours, 7 minutes, and 12 seconds, creating six new world records certified by the FAI.
The captain who commanded the flight also commanded the Liberty Bell Express flight.
Friendship One
—Flown 29–31 January 1988 from Seattle/SEA, to raise funds for Friendship Foundation.
Two stopovers were made, at Athens Airport and Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, (formerly the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport).
The record lasted less than a month, as it was beaten by a Gulfstream IV piloted in part by Gulfstream Aerospace CEO Al Paulson.
The round-the-world flight took 35 hours and 54 minutes over 23,125 miles.
Specifications (747SP)
The Boeing 747SP is a widebody commercial airliner.
It is a highly modified version of its predecessor, the Boeing 747-100 with SP standing for "special performance".
First flight on 4 July 1975.
General characteristics
Crew: 3 (2 pilots, flight engineer)
Capacity: 331 (28 first, 303 economy)
Length: 184 ft 9 in (56.31 m)
Wingspan: 195 ft 8 in (59.64 m)
Height: 65 ft 10 in (20.06 m)
Wing area: 5,500 ft² (511 m²)
Empty weight: 336,870 lb (152,780 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 670,000 lb (304,000 kg)
Powerplant:
4× Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4W or Rolls-Royce RB211-524C2 turbofan engines, 46,500 lbf (206.8 kN) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 0.92 Mach (591 knots, 1,095 km/h)
Cruise speed: .88 Mach (535 knots, 990 km/h)
Range: 6,650 nm (7,650 mi, 12,325 km) with 276 passengers
Source: Wikipedia
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Two operated by Pan Am and the other operated by United Airlines with the aircraft being "loaned" to Friendship Foundation.
(In order to raise money for the foundation).
Those flights are:
Liberty Bell Express
— Flown from New York/JFK May 1-May 3, 1976. 2 stopovers at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Tokyo-Haneda Airport.
The round-the-world flight took 46 hours and 26 minutes over 23,137 miles.
During the mid-1970s, two Pan Am flights operated around the world to set or break previous around-the-world flying records.
Liberty Bell Express, a Boeing 747SP-21 named Clipper Liberty Bell with registration number N533PA, broke the commercial around-the-world record, set by a Flying Tiger Line Boeing 707, with a new record of 46 hours, 50 seconds.
The flight left New York-JFK on May 1, 1976, and returned on May 3, 1976.
The flight made only two stopovers during the journey, one in New Delhi and the other in Tokyo-Haneda, where a two-hour delay was made because of a strike among the airport workers.
Nevertheless, the flight beat the Flying Tiger Line's old record by 16 hours and 24 minutes.
Pan Am Flight 50
—to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pan Am.
Flown 28–30 October 1977 from San Francisco/SFO, with a time duration of 54 hours, 7 minutes, 12 seconds.
3 stopovers at London-Heathrow Airport, Cape Town International Airport and Auckland Airport.
Flight 50 flew over both the North Pole and the South Pole.
In order to commemorate Pan Am's 50th birthday, the airline organized another around-the-world flight, this time over the North Pole and the South Pole and including three stopovers: in London-Heathrow, Cape Town and Auckland, before going back to its origin—San Francisco.
The 747SP-21 used, Clipper New Horizons, was the former Liberty Bell, making the plane the only one to go around the globe over the Equator (as Liberty Bell) and the Poles (as New Horizons).
The flight made it in 54 hours, 7 minutes, and 12 seconds, creating six new world records certified by the FAI.
The captain who commanded the flight also commanded the Liberty Bell Express flight.
Friendship One
—Flown 29–31 January 1988 from Seattle/SEA, to raise funds for Friendship Foundation.
Two stopovers were made, at Athens Airport and Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, (formerly the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport).
The record lasted less than a month, as it was beaten by a Gulfstream IV piloted in part by Gulfstream Aerospace CEO Al Paulson.
The round-the-world flight took 35 hours and 54 minutes over 23,125 miles.
Specifications (747SP)
The Boeing 747SP is a widebody commercial airliner.
It is a highly modified version of its predecessor, the Boeing 747-100 with SP standing for "special performance".
First flight on 4 July 1975.
General characteristics
Crew: 3 (2 pilots, flight engineer)
Capacity: 331 (28 first, 303 economy)
Length: 184 ft 9 in (56.31 m)
Wingspan: 195 ft 8 in (59.64 m)
Height: 65 ft 10 in (20.06 m)
Wing area: 5,500 ft² (511 m²)
Empty weight: 336,870 lb (152,780 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 670,000 lb (304,000 kg)
Powerplant:
4× Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4W or Rolls-Royce RB211-524C2 turbofan engines, 46,500 lbf (206.8 kN) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 0.92 Mach (591 knots, 1,095 km/h)
Cruise speed: .88 Mach (535 knots, 990 km/h)
Range: 6,650 nm (7,650 mi, 12,325 km) with 276 passengers
Source: Wikipedia
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Steve Fossett Fixed-wing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fixed-wing aircraft pilot
Fossett made the first solo nonstop fixed-wing aircraft flight around the world between February 28, 2005, and March 3, 2005.
He took off from Salina, Kansas, where he was assisted by faculty members and students from Kansas State University, and flew eastbound, with the prevailing winds, returning to Salina after 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 seconds, without refueling or making intermediate landings.
His average speed of 342.2 mph (550.7 km/h) was also the absolute world record for "speed around the world, nonstop and non-refueled.
His aircraft, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, had a carbon fiber reinforced plastic airframe, with a single Williams FJ44 turbofan engine.
It was designed and built by Burt Rutan and his company, Scaled Composites, for long-distance solo flight.
The fuel fraction, the weight of the fuel divided by the weight of the aircraft at take-off, was 83 percent.
On February 11, 2006, Fossett set the absolute world record for "distance without landing" by flying from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, around the world eastbound, then upon returning to Florida continuing across the Atlantic a second time to land in Bournemouth, England.
The official distance was 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km) and the duration was 76 hours 45 minutes.
The next month, Fossett made a third flight around the world in order to break the absolute record for "Distance over a closed circuit without landing" (with takeoff and landing at the same airport).
He took off from Salina, Kansas on March 14, 2006 and returned on March 17, 2006 after flying 25,262 statute miles (40,655 km).
There are only seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and Fossett broke three of them in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
All three records were previously held by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager from their flight in the Voyager in 1986.
Fossett contributed the GlobalFlyer to the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection.
It is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum.
Fossett flew the plane to the Center and taxied the plane to the front door.
Transcontinental aircraft records
Fossett set two U.S. transcontinental fixed-wing aircraft records in the same day.
On February 5, 2003, he flew his Cessna Citation X jet from San Diego, California to Charleston, South Carolina in 2 hours, 56 minutes, 20 seconds, at an average speed of 726.83 mph (1169.73 km/h) to smash the transcontinental record for non-supersonic jets.
He returned to San Diego, then flew the same course as co-pilot for fellow adventurer Joe Ritchie in Ritchie's turboprop Piaggio Avanti.
Their time was 3 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds, an average speed of 546.44 mph (879.46 km/h), which broke the previous turboprop transcontinental record held by Chuck Yeager and Renald Davenport.
Fossett also set the east-to-west transcontinental record for non-supersonic fixed-wing aircraft on September 17, 2000.
He flew from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California in 3 hours, 29 minutes, at an average speed of 591.96 mph (952.67 km/h).
First trans-Atlantic flight re-enactment
On July 2, 2005, Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz re-created the first nonstop crossing of the Atlantic which was made by the British team of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in June 1919 in a Vickers Vimy biplane.
Their flight from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada to Clifden, Ireland in the open cockpit Vickers Vimy replica took 18 hours 25 minutes with 13 hours flown in instrument flight conditions.
Because there was no airport in Clifden, Fossett and Rebholz landed on the 8th fairway of the Connemarra Golf Course.
Glider records
The team of Steve Fossett and Terry Delore (NZL) set ten official world records in gliders while flying in three major locations: New Zealand, Argentina and Nevada, United States.
An asterisk (*) indicates records subsequently broken by other pilots.
Distance (Free) World Record 2,192.9 km, December 4, 2004.
Triangle Distance (Free) World Record* 1,509.7 km, December 13, 2003.
Out and Return Distance (Free) World Record* 2,002.44 km, November 14, 2003.
1,500 Kilometer Triangle World Record 119.11 km/h (74.02 mph), December 13, 2003.
1,250 Kilometer Triangle U.S. National Record 143.48 km/h (89.51 mph). Exceeded world record by 0.01 km/h, July 30, 2003.
750 Kilometer Triangle World Record* 171.29 km/h (106.44 mph), July 29, 2003.[33]
500 Kilometer Triangle World Record* 187.12 km/h (116.27 mph), November 15, 2003.
1,000 km Out-and-Return World Record* 166.46 km/h (103.44 mph), December 12, 2002.
1,500 km Out-and-Return World Record* 156.61 km/h (97.30 mph), November 14, 2003.
Triangle Distance (Declared) World Record* 1,502.6 km, December 13, 2003.
Out-and-Return Distance (Declared) World Record* 1,804.7 km, November 14, 2003.
Fossett and co-pilot Einar Enevoldson flew a glider into the stratosphere on August 29, 2006.
The flight set the Absolute Altitude Record for gliders at 50,727 feet (15,460 m).
Since the glider cockpit was unpressurized, the pilots wore full pressure suits (similar to space suits) so that they would be able to fly to altitudes above 45,000 feet (14,000 m).
Fossett and Enevoldson had made previous attempts in three countries over a period of five years before finally succeeding with this record flight.
This endeavor is known as the Perlan Project.
Source: Wikipedia
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Fixed-wing aircraft pilot
Fossett made the first solo nonstop fixed-wing aircraft flight around the world between February 28, 2005, and March 3, 2005.
He took off from Salina, Kansas, where he was assisted by faculty members and students from Kansas State University, and flew eastbound, with the prevailing winds, returning to Salina after 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 seconds, without refueling or making intermediate landings.
His average speed of 342.2 mph (550.7 km/h) was also the absolute world record for "speed around the world, nonstop and non-refueled.
His aircraft, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, had a carbon fiber reinforced plastic airframe, with a single Williams FJ44 turbofan engine.
It was designed and built by Burt Rutan and his company, Scaled Composites, for long-distance solo flight.
The fuel fraction, the weight of the fuel divided by the weight of the aircraft at take-off, was 83 percent.
On February 11, 2006, Fossett set the absolute world record for "distance without landing" by flying from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, around the world eastbound, then upon returning to Florida continuing across the Atlantic a second time to land in Bournemouth, England.
The official distance was 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km) and the duration was 76 hours 45 minutes.
The next month, Fossett made a third flight around the world in order to break the absolute record for "Distance over a closed circuit without landing" (with takeoff and landing at the same airport).
He took off from Salina, Kansas on March 14, 2006 and returned on March 17, 2006 after flying 25,262 statute miles (40,655 km).
There are only seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and Fossett broke three of them in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
All three records were previously held by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager from their flight in the Voyager in 1986.
Fossett contributed the GlobalFlyer to the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection.
It is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum.
Fossett flew the plane to the Center and taxied the plane to the front door.
Transcontinental aircraft records
Fossett set two U.S. transcontinental fixed-wing aircraft records in the same day.
On February 5, 2003, he flew his Cessna Citation X jet from San Diego, California to Charleston, South Carolina in 2 hours, 56 minutes, 20 seconds, at an average speed of 726.83 mph (1169.73 km/h) to smash the transcontinental record for non-supersonic jets.
He returned to San Diego, then flew the same course as co-pilot for fellow adventurer Joe Ritchie in Ritchie's turboprop Piaggio Avanti.
Their time was 3 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds, an average speed of 546.44 mph (879.46 km/h), which broke the previous turboprop transcontinental record held by Chuck Yeager and Renald Davenport.
Fossett also set the east-to-west transcontinental record for non-supersonic fixed-wing aircraft on September 17, 2000.
He flew from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California in 3 hours, 29 minutes, at an average speed of 591.96 mph (952.67 km/h).
First trans-Atlantic flight re-enactment
On July 2, 2005, Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz re-created the first nonstop crossing of the Atlantic which was made by the British team of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in June 1919 in a Vickers Vimy biplane.
Their flight from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada to Clifden, Ireland in the open cockpit Vickers Vimy replica took 18 hours 25 minutes with 13 hours flown in instrument flight conditions.
Because there was no airport in Clifden, Fossett and Rebholz landed on the 8th fairway of the Connemarra Golf Course.
Glider records
The team of Steve Fossett and Terry Delore (NZL) set ten official world records in gliders while flying in three major locations: New Zealand, Argentina and Nevada, United States.
An asterisk (*) indicates records subsequently broken by other pilots.
Distance (Free) World Record 2,192.9 km, December 4, 2004.
Triangle Distance (Free) World Record* 1,509.7 km, December 13, 2003.
Out and Return Distance (Free) World Record* 2,002.44 km, November 14, 2003.
1,500 Kilometer Triangle World Record 119.11 km/h (74.02 mph), December 13, 2003.
1,250 Kilometer Triangle U.S. National Record 143.48 km/h (89.51 mph). Exceeded world record by 0.01 km/h, July 30, 2003.
750 Kilometer Triangle World Record* 171.29 km/h (106.44 mph), July 29, 2003.[33]
500 Kilometer Triangle World Record* 187.12 km/h (116.27 mph), November 15, 2003.
1,000 km Out-and-Return World Record* 166.46 km/h (103.44 mph), December 12, 2002.
1,500 km Out-and-Return World Record* 156.61 km/h (97.30 mph), November 14, 2003.
Triangle Distance (Declared) World Record* 1,502.6 km, December 13, 2003.
Out-and-Return Distance (Declared) World Record* 1,804.7 km, November 14, 2003.
Fossett and co-pilot Einar Enevoldson flew a glider into the stratosphere on August 29, 2006.
The flight set the Absolute Altitude Record for gliders at 50,727 feet (15,460 m).
Since the glider cockpit was unpressurized, the pilots wore full pressure suits (similar to space suits) so that they would be able to fly to altitudes above 45,000 feet (14,000 m).
Fossett and Enevoldson had made previous attempts in three countries over a period of five years before finally succeeding with this record flight.
This endeavor is known as the Perlan Project.
Source: Wikipedia
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Steve Fossett - Balloon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – c. September 3, 2007) was an American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer and the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.
He made his fortune in the financial services industry, and was best known for many world records, including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.
Balloon pilot
On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, after taking off from South Korea, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
In 2002, he became the first person to fly around the world alone, nonstop, in a balloon.
He launched the 10-story high balloon Spirit of Freedom from Northam, Western Australia, on June 19, 2002 and returned to Australia on July 3, 2002, subsequently landing in Queensland, Australia.
Duration and distance of this solo balloon flight was 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km).
The balloon dragged him along the ground for 20 minutes at the end of the flight.
The control center for the mission was in Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.
Fossett's top speed during the flight was 186 miles per hour (299 km/h) over the Indian Ocean.
Only the capsule survived the landing; it was taken to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where it was displayed.
The trip set a number of records for ballooning: Fastest (200 miles per hour (320 km/h), breaking his own previous record of 166 miles per hour (270 km/h)), Fastest Around the World (13.5 days), Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon (20,482.26 miles (32,963.00 km) 20,482.26 miles), and 24-Hour Balloon Distance (3,186.80 miles (5,128.66 km) on July 1).
While Fossett had financed five previous tries himself, his successful record-setting flight was sponsored by Bud Light.
In the end, Fossett actually made money on all his balloon flights; he bought a contingency insurance policy for $500,000 that would pay him $3 million if he succeeded in the flight, and along with sponsorship, that payout meant that in the end, Fossett did not have to spend any of his money other than for initial expenses.
Airship pilot
Fossett set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships on October 27, 2004.
The new record for fastest flight was accomplished with a Zeppelin NT, at a recorded average speed of 62.2 knots (115.0 km/h, 71.5 mph). The previous record was 50.1 knots (92.8 km/h, 57.7 mph) set in 2001 in a Virgin airship.
In 2006, Fossett was one of only 17 pilots in the world licensed to fly the Zeppelin.
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James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – c. September 3, 2007) was an American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer and the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.
He made his fortune in the financial services industry, and was best known for many world records, including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.
Balloon pilot
On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, after taking off from South Korea, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
In 2002, he became the first person to fly around the world alone, nonstop, in a balloon.
He launched the 10-story high balloon Spirit of Freedom from Northam, Western Australia, on June 19, 2002 and returned to Australia on July 3, 2002, subsequently landing in Queensland, Australia.
Duration and distance of this solo balloon flight was 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km).
The balloon dragged him along the ground for 20 minutes at the end of the flight.
The control center for the mission was in Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.
Fossett's top speed during the flight was 186 miles per hour (299 km/h) over the Indian Ocean.
Only the capsule survived the landing; it was taken to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where it was displayed.
The trip set a number of records for ballooning: Fastest (200 miles per hour (320 km/h), breaking his own previous record of 166 miles per hour (270 km/h)), Fastest Around the World (13.5 days), Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon (20,482.26 miles (32,963.00 km) 20,482.26 miles), and 24-Hour Balloon Distance (3,186.80 miles (5,128.66 km) on July 1).
While Fossett had financed five previous tries himself, his successful record-setting flight was sponsored by Bud Light.
In the end, Fossett actually made money on all his balloon flights; he bought a contingency insurance policy for $500,000 that would pay him $3 million if he succeeded in the flight, and along with sponsorship, that payout meant that in the end, Fossett did not have to spend any of his money other than for initial expenses.
Airship pilot
Fossett set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships on October 27, 2004.
The new record for fastest flight was accomplished with a Zeppelin NT, at a recorded average speed of 62.2 knots (115.0 km/h, 71.5 mph). The previous record was 50.1 knots (92.8 km/h, 57.7 mph) set in 2001 in a Virgin airship.
In 2006, Fossett was one of only 17 pilots in the world licensed to fly the Zeppelin.
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Concorde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Records
The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 7 February 1996 by British Airways' G-BOAD in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds from takeoff to touchdown.
Concorde also set other records, including the official FAI "Westbound Around the World" and "Eastbound Around the World" world air speed records.
On 12–13 October 1992, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first New World landing, Concorde Spirit Tours (USA) chartered Air France Concorde F-BTSD and circumnavigated the world in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds, from Lisbon, Portugal, including six refuelling stops at Santo Domingo, Acapulco, Honolulu, Guam, Bangkok, and Bahrain.
The eastbound record was set by the same Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) under charter to Concorde Spirit Tours in the USA on 15–16 August 1995.
This promotional flight circumnavigated the world from New York/JFK International Airport in 31 hours 27 minutes 49 seconds, including six refuelling stops at Toulouse, Dubai, Bangkok, Andersen AFB in Guam, Honolulu, and Acapulco.
General characteristics
Crew: 3 (pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer)
Capacity: 92–120 passengers (128 in high-density layout)
Length: 202 ft 4 in (61.66 m)
Wingspan: 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m)
Height: 40 ft 0 in (12.2 m)
Fuselage internal length: 129 ft 0 in (39.32 m)
Fuselage width: maximum of 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) external 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) internal
Fuselage height: maximum of 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) external 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) internal)
Wing area: 3,856 ft2 (358.25 m2)
Empty weight: 173,500 lb (78,700 kg)
Useful load: 245,000 lb (111,130 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 Mk 610 afterburning turbojets
Dry thrust: 32,000 lbf (140 kN) each
Thrust with afterburner: 38,050 lbf (169 kN) each
Maximum fuel load: 210,940 lb (95,680 kg)
Maximum taxiing weight: 412,000 lb (187,000 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.04[223] (≈1,350 mph, 2,172 km/h) at cruise altitude
Cruise speed: Mach 2.02[223] (≈1,320 mph, 2,124 km/h) at cruise altitude
Range: 3,900 nmi (4,500 mi, 7,250 km)
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,300 m)
Rate of climb: 5,000 ft/min (25.41 m/s)
lift-to-drag: Low speed– 3.94, Approach– 4.35, 250 kn, 10,000 ft– 9.27, Mach 0.94– 11.47, Mach 2.04– 7.14
Fuel consumption: 46.85 lb/mi (13.2 kg/km) operating for maximum range
Thrust/weight: 0.373
Maximum nose tip temperature: 260 °F (127 °C)
Source: Wikipedia
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Records
The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 7 February 1996 by British Airways' G-BOAD in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds from takeoff to touchdown.
Concorde also set other records, including the official FAI "Westbound Around the World" and "Eastbound Around the World" world air speed records.
On 12–13 October 1992, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first New World landing, Concorde Spirit Tours (USA) chartered Air France Concorde F-BTSD and circumnavigated the world in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds, from Lisbon, Portugal, including six refuelling stops at Santo Domingo, Acapulco, Honolulu, Guam, Bangkok, and Bahrain.
The eastbound record was set by the same Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) under charter to Concorde Spirit Tours in the USA on 15–16 August 1995.
This promotional flight circumnavigated the world from New York/JFK International Airport in 31 hours 27 minutes 49 seconds, including six refuelling stops at Toulouse, Dubai, Bangkok, Andersen AFB in Guam, Honolulu, and Acapulco.
General characteristics
Crew: 3 (pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer)
Capacity: 92–120 passengers (128 in high-density layout)
Length: 202 ft 4 in (61.66 m)
Wingspan: 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m)
Height: 40 ft 0 in (12.2 m)
Fuselage internal length: 129 ft 0 in (39.32 m)
Fuselage width: maximum of 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) external 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) internal
Fuselage height: maximum of 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) external 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) internal)
Wing area: 3,856 ft2 (358.25 m2)
Empty weight: 173,500 lb (78,700 kg)
Useful load: 245,000 lb (111,130 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 Mk 610 afterburning turbojets
Dry thrust: 32,000 lbf (140 kN) each
Thrust with afterburner: 38,050 lbf (169 kN) each
Maximum fuel load: 210,940 lb (95,680 kg)
Maximum taxiing weight: 412,000 lb (187,000 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.04[223] (≈1,350 mph, 2,172 km/h) at cruise altitude
Cruise speed: Mach 2.02[223] (≈1,320 mph, 2,124 km/h) at cruise altitude
Range: 3,900 nmi (4,500 mi, 7,250 km)
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,300 m)
Rate of climb: 5,000 ft/min (25.41 m/s)
lift-to-drag: Low speed– 3.94, Approach– 4.35, 250 kn, 10,000 ft– 9.27, Mach 0.94– 11.47, Mach 2.04– 7.14
Fuel consumption: 46.85 lb/mi (13.2 kg/km) operating for maximum range
Thrust/weight: 0.373
Maximum nose tip temperature: 260 °F (127 °C)
Source: Wikipedia
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Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer (registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in a time of 67 hours 1 minute from February 28, 2005 until March 3, 2005.
The flight speed of 590.7 km/h (342.2 mph) broke the Absolute World Record for the fastest nonstop unrefueled circumnavigation set by the previous Rutan-designed Voyager aircraft at 9 days 3 minutes and an average speed of 186.11 km/h (115.65 mph).
The aircraft was owned by the pilot Steve Fossett, sponsored by Richard Branson's airline, Virgin Atlantic, and built by Burt Rutan's company, Scaled Composites.
The companies had previously announced a combined effort for Virgin Galactic.
Between February 8, 2006 – February 11, 2006, Fossett flew the GlobalFlyer for the longest aircraft flight distance in history: 25,766 miles (41,467 km).
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Wingspan: 114 ft 0 in (34.75 m)
Height: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Wing area: 400 sq ft (37 m2)
Aspect ratio: 32.6
Empty weight: 3,700 lb (1,678 kg)
Gross weight: 22,100 lb (10,024 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Williams FJ44-2 turbofan, 2,300 lbf (10 kN) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 296 mph (476 km/h; 257 kn)
Range: 25,766 mi (22,390 nmi; 41,466 km)
Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (15,545 m)
Maximum glide ratio: 37
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer (registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in a time of 67 hours 1 minute from February 28, 2005 until March 3, 2005.
The flight speed of 590.7 km/h (342.2 mph) broke the Absolute World Record for the fastest nonstop unrefueled circumnavigation set by the previous Rutan-designed Voyager aircraft at 9 days 3 minutes and an average speed of 186.11 km/h (115.65 mph).
The aircraft was owned by the pilot Steve Fossett, sponsored by Richard Branson's airline, Virgin Atlantic, and built by Burt Rutan's company, Scaled Composites.
The companies had previously announced a combined effort for Virgin Galactic.
Between February 8, 2006 – February 11, 2006, Fossett flew the GlobalFlyer for the longest aircraft flight distance in history: 25,766 miles (41,467 km).
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Wingspan: 114 ft 0 in (34.75 m)
Height: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Wing area: 400 sq ft (37 m2)
Aspect ratio: 32.6
Empty weight: 3,700 lb (1,678 kg)
Gross weight: 22,100 lb (10,024 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Williams FJ44-2 turbofan, 2,300 lbf (10 kN) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 296 mph (476 km/h; 257 kn)
Range: 25,766 mi (22,390 nmi; 41,466 km)
Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (15,545 m)
Maximum glide ratio: 37
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Rutan Voyager
Rutan Voyager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling.
It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Mojave Desert on December 14, 1986, and ended successfully 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later, on December 23.
The aircraft flew westerly 26,366 statute miles (42,432 km; the FAI accredited distance is 40,212 km) at an average altitude of 11,000 feet (3,350 m).
This definitively broke a previous record set by a United States Air Force crew piloting a Boeing B-52 that flew 12,532 miles (20,168 km) in 1962.
General characteristics
Crew: Two pilots
Length: 29 ft 2 in (8.90 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft 8 in (33.80 m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.10 m)
Empty weight: 2250 lb (1020.6 kg)
Gross weight: 9694.5 lb (4397.4 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Teledyne Continental O-240, 130 hp (100 kW)
1 × Teledyne Continental IOL-200, 110 hp (81 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 122 mph (196 km/h)
Range: 24,986 miles (42,212 km)
Endurance: 216 hours
Source: Wikipedia
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling.
It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Mojave Desert on December 14, 1986, and ended successfully 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later, on December 23.
The aircraft flew westerly 26,366 statute miles (42,432 km; the FAI accredited distance is 40,212 km) at an average altitude of 11,000 feet (3,350 m).
This definitively broke a previous record set by a United States Air Force crew piloting a Boeing B-52 that flew 12,532 miles (20,168 km) in 1962.
General characteristics
Crew: Two pilots
Length: 29 ft 2 in (8.90 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft 8 in (33.80 m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.10 m)
Empty weight: 2250 lb (1020.6 kg)
Gross weight: 9694.5 lb (4397.4 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Teledyne Continental O-240, 130 hp (100 kW)
1 × Teledyne Continental IOL-200, 110 hp (81 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 122 mph (196 km/h)
Range: 24,986 miles (42,212 km)
Endurance: 216 hours
Source: Wikipedia
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12/9/10
SAS Polar flight
The first trans-arctic flight with a commercial aircraft
After delivery of its first DC-6B early in 1952, on November 19, 1952 SAS made an exploratory flight over the North Pole. At 8.30am on November 19, 1952, SAS’ first DC-6B, ‘Arild Viking’, took off from Los Angeles. 28 hours and six minutes later it touched down in Copenhagen, following two intermediate stops at Edmonton, Canada, and Thule, Greenland. The DC-6B became the first commercial airplane to fly over the Polar region.
The route meant that SAS had to redesign the planes to avoid damage when landing for refueling in remote areas along the route where the temp could as low or even lower than -40 c.
Navigation was also a challenge as no compass will function correctly so far north, and a special navigation grid was designed called the poor grid where the lat's and long's where extended over the pole thus giving the navigator something to navigate by with help from the stars, and even building thier own radio stations along the the way to secure communication with the aircrafts.
The aircraft and following aircrafts where equipped with arctic survival kits including tents shovels food and rifles to shot any polar bears with.
On May 23, 1953 SAS's DC-6B piloted by chief pilot, Mikal Aschim made a commercial flight round-the-world departing from Oslo Norway to Thule Greenland and onward westerly with stops in Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Tokyo Japan, Manila Philippines, Bangkok Thailand, Karachi Pakistan, Beirut Lebanon, Rome Italy, Frankfurt Germany, Copenhagen Denmark returning to Oslo Norway on May 29, 1953.
Carried on this flight were forty medical staff rotational personnel to support NORMASH (Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital).
The task of NORMASH was to position itself behind the Korean War battle lines to give immediate first surgical treatment to injured soldiers.
In 1954 SAS became the first airline to fly a scheduled route using the Polar shortcut, with service between Copenhagen and Los Angeles.
Acquisition of the longer range DC-7C in 1956 allowed SAS to offer nonstop operation over the Pole as far as Tokyo, making it the first airline to operate a round-the-world route over Polar regions.
On September 8, 1956 SAS initiated its Royal Viking deluxe air service with fully reclineable seats.
First airline to fly directly over the North Pole
In 1953, a test flight between Bodø, Norway, and Fairbanks, Alaska, became the first commercial aircraft to ever fly directly over the geographical North Pole.
SAS also became the first airline to introduce a special Polar navigation system to overcome the problems of flying over the magnetic North Pole.
On the 15th November 1954 at 19:18 local time the "Helge Viking" (OY-KMI) took off in Copenhagen for the first commercial flight over the North Pole (flight number SK 931).
The plane was a Douglas DC-6 B with a wing span of 35.8 m equipped with four 2500 hp Pratt & Whitney propeller engines 18-cylinder twin row radial piston.
The maximum cruising speed of this aircraft is 507 km/h.
The range is 7600 km with a service ceiling of 25,000 ft.
The long-range aircrafts used by SAS had a capacity of 50 to 75 passengers.
Capt. Povl Jensen and his crew, incl. the chief pilot and the chief navigator of SAS, flew via Söndre Strömsfjord (Greenland) to Winnipeg (Canada) where a scheduled crew-change took place.
Above the Canadian tundra they met the sister plane "Leif Viking" (LN-LMP) that was on its way from Los Angeles to Copenhagen on the same route. From Winnipeg Capt.
Mikal Aschim and his crew continued the flight to Los Angeles, where they arrived on the 16th November at 22:20 (with a delay of just 3 minutes). The total travelling time was 27 h 15 min and the time airborne was 24 h 25 min.
On board of the plane were the three Prime Ministers of the Scandinavian countries: Hans Hedtoft (Danmark), Tage Erlander (Sweden) and Oscar Torp (Norway) as well as a group of prominent journalists.
The inauguration of the polar route was the biggest single aviation event in Scandinavia. In Copenhagen more than 10.000 spectators joined the ceremony for the departing plane and, roughly 24 hours later, the ceremonial welcome greeting for the arriving plane.
In 1957 SAS inaugurated the transpolar service Copenhagen-Anchorage-Tokyo with the new Boeing DC-7 C. The flying time was reduced from 52 to 32 hours.
By tying together the southern route and the polar route, SAS had earned the right to put "First over the pole and around the world" over the door on its DC-7 C's.
On February 24, 1957 the "Guttorm Viking" took off from Copenhagen to Anchorage Alaska and Tokyo. Simultaneously, the "Reidar Viking" departed from Tokyo.
At 9:10 PM the two aircraft met over the North Pole.
In 1954 SAS became the first airline to fly a scheduled route using the Polar shortcut, with service between Copenhagen and Los Angeles. Acquisition of the longer range DC-7C in 1956 allowed SAS to offer nonstop operation over the Pole as far as Tokyo, making it the first airline to operate a round-the-world route over Polar regions. On September 8, 1956 SAS initiated its Royal Viking deluxe air service with fully reclineable seats.
Launching the world’s first Polar shortcut
The new route cut the travel time between California and Scandinavia from 36 hours to 22 hours. SAS had no competition on the Polar route for five years until 1959.
Source:
SAS Scandinavian Airlines
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/969181/
http://www.polerouter.de/frameset-story.htm
http://www.wingnet.org/rtw/RTW004B.HTM
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After delivery of its first DC-6B early in 1952, on November 19, 1952 SAS made an exploratory flight over the North Pole. At 8.30am on November 19, 1952, SAS’ first DC-6B, ‘Arild Viking’, took off from Los Angeles. 28 hours and six minutes later it touched down in Copenhagen, following two intermediate stops at Edmonton, Canada, and Thule, Greenland. The DC-6B became the first commercial airplane to fly over the Polar region.
The route meant that SAS had to redesign the planes to avoid damage when landing for refueling in remote areas along the route where the temp could as low or even lower than -40 c.
Navigation was also a challenge as no compass will function correctly so far north, and a special navigation grid was designed called the poor grid where the lat's and long's where extended over the pole thus giving the navigator something to navigate by with help from the stars, and even building thier own radio stations along the the way to secure communication with the aircrafts.
The aircraft and following aircrafts where equipped with arctic survival kits including tents shovels food and rifles to shot any polar bears with.
On May 23, 1953 SAS's DC-6B piloted by chief pilot, Mikal Aschim made a commercial flight round-the-world departing from Oslo Norway to Thule Greenland and onward westerly with stops in Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Tokyo Japan, Manila Philippines, Bangkok Thailand, Karachi Pakistan, Beirut Lebanon, Rome Italy, Frankfurt Germany, Copenhagen Denmark returning to Oslo Norway on May 29, 1953.
Carried on this flight were forty medical staff rotational personnel to support NORMASH (Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital).
The task of NORMASH was to position itself behind the Korean War battle lines to give immediate first surgical treatment to injured soldiers.
In 1954 SAS became the first airline to fly a scheduled route using the Polar shortcut, with service between Copenhagen and Los Angeles.
Acquisition of the longer range DC-7C in 1956 allowed SAS to offer nonstop operation over the Pole as far as Tokyo, making it the first airline to operate a round-the-world route over Polar regions.
On September 8, 1956 SAS initiated its Royal Viking deluxe air service with fully reclineable seats.
First airline to fly directly over the North Pole
In 1953, a test flight between Bodø, Norway, and Fairbanks, Alaska, became the first commercial aircraft to ever fly directly over the geographical North Pole.
SAS also became the first airline to introduce a special Polar navigation system to overcome the problems of flying over the magnetic North Pole.
On the 15th November 1954 at 19:18 local time the "Helge Viking" (OY-KMI) took off in Copenhagen for the first commercial flight over the North Pole (flight number SK 931).
The plane was a Douglas DC-6 B with a wing span of 35.8 m equipped with four 2500 hp Pratt & Whitney propeller engines 18-cylinder twin row radial piston.
The maximum cruising speed of this aircraft is 507 km/h.
The range is 7600 km with a service ceiling of 25,000 ft.
The long-range aircrafts used by SAS had a capacity of 50 to 75 passengers.
Capt. Povl Jensen and his crew, incl. the chief pilot and the chief navigator of SAS, flew via Söndre Strömsfjord (Greenland) to Winnipeg (Canada) where a scheduled crew-change took place.
Above the Canadian tundra they met the sister plane "Leif Viking" (LN-LMP) that was on its way from Los Angeles to Copenhagen on the same route. From Winnipeg Capt.
Mikal Aschim and his crew continued the flight to Los Angeles, where they arrived on the 16th November at 22:20 (with a delay of just 3 minutes). The total travelling time was 27 h 15 min and the time airborne was 24 h 25 min.
On board of the plane were the three Prime Ministers of the Scandinavian countries: Hans Hedtoft (Danmark), Tage Erlander (Sweden) and Oscar Torp (Norway) as well as a group of prominent journalists.
The inauguration of the polar route was the biggest single aviation event in Scandinavia. In Copenhagen more than 10.000 spectators joined the ceremony for the departing plane and, roughly 24 hours later, the ceremonial welcome greeting for the arriving plane.
In 1957 SAS inaugurated the transpolar service Copenhagen-Anchorage-Tokyo with the new Boeing DC-7 C. The flying time was reduced from 52 to 32 hours.
By tying together the southern route and the polar route, SAS had earned the right to put "First over the pole and around the world" over the door on its DC-7 C's.
On February 24, 1957 the "Guttorm Viking" took off from Copenhagen to Anchorage Alaska and Tokyo. Simultaneously, the "Reidar Viking" departed from Tokyo.
At 9:10 PM the two aircraft met over the North Pole.
In 1954 SAS became the first airline to fly a scheduled route using the Polar shortcut, with service between Copenhagen and Los Angeles. Acquisition of the longer range DC-7C in 1956 allowed SAS to offer nonstop operation over the Pole as far as Tokyo, making it the first airline to operate a round-the-world route over Polar regions. On September 8, 1956 SAS initiated its Royal Viking deluxe air service with fully reclineable seats.
Launching the world’s first Polar shortcut
The new route cut the travel time between California and Scandinavia from 36 hours to 22 hours. SAS had no competition on the Polar route for five years until 1959.
Source:
SAS Scandinavian Airlines
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/969181/
http://www.polerouter.de/frameset-story.htm
http://www.wingnet.org/rtw/RTW004B.HTM
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12/7/10
First flights to Hawaii
The first flight in Hawaii occurred on December 31, 1910.
On December 31, 1910 the first powered airplane flight in Hawaii took place at Sam Damon's Moanalua Polo Field about a mile north of Honolulu International Airport.
J. C. Bud Mars took off in a Curtiss P-18 biplane, the Skylark, as thousands of residents watched from the field and surrounding hillsides.
The First Navy Pacific Flight
On August 31, 1925, Commander John Rodgers and his crew, in the PN-9 No. 1 seaplane, flew 1,992 statute miles from San Pablo, California landing in the ocean near Maui and setting a new world record for a non-stop flight by seaplane.
In 1925 Commander John Rodgers, USN, on August 31 in the PN-9 Seaplane (2 Packard 500 hp engines) flew 1,992 statute miles from San Pablo, California to a point near Honolulu, although he failed to reach his objective, in Honolulu.
This “failure” constituted a new world record for a non-stop flight by seaplane.
Emory Bronte and Ernest Smith were the first civilians to successfully fly from California to Hawaii, crash landing on Molokai when they ran out of fuel on July 15, 1927.
Major Harold Clark made the first interisland flight on May 9, 1918.
Source: http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/
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On December 31, 1910 the first powered airplane flight in Hawaii took place at Sam Damon's Moanalua Polo Field about a mile north of Honolulu International Airport.
J. C. Bud Mars took off in a Curtiss P-18 biplane, the Skylark, as thousands of residents watched from the field and surrounding hillsides.
The First Navy Pacific Flight
On August 31, 1925, Commander John Rodgers and his crew, in the PN-9 No. 1 seaplane, flew 1,992 statute miles from San Pablo, California landing in the ocean near Maui and setting a new world record for a non-stop flight by seaplane.
In 1925 Commander John Rodgers, USN, on August 31 in the PN-9 Seaplane (2 Packard 500 hp engines) flew 1,992 statute miles from San Pablo, California to a point near Honolulu, although he failed to reach his objective, in Honolulu.
This “failure” constituted a new world record for a non-stop flight by seaplane.
Emory Bronte and Ernest Smith were the first civilians to successfully fly from California to Hawaii, crash landing on Molokai when they ran out of fuel on July 15, 1927.
Major Harold Clark made the first interisland flight on May 9, 1918.
Source: http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/
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12/5/10
Malta - The Jewel of the Mediterranean
We start the trip from our homebase in the Mediterranean, Malta.
We recommend that you take a few days to get to know this wonderful country.
St John's Co Cathedral - Valletta
Malta is indeed - The Jewel of the Mediterranean
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12/4/10
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 first flew on April 29 1988.
Developed from the Boeing 747-300, include a new, two crew digital flight deck with six large CRT displays, an increased span wing with winglets.
It also have got new engines, recontoured wing/fuselage fairing, a new interior, lower basic but increased max takeoff weights, and greater range.
The 747-400ER
The -400ER has the same size as the -400, but has more range or payload capability.
The MTOW was increased by 15,870kg (35,000lb) to 412,770kg (910,000lb), giving a further range of 805km (435nm) or a 6800kg (15,000lb) greater payload.
The -400ER also features a new cabin interior with larger luggage bins, and several flight deck improvements.
The -400ER incorporates the strengthened wing, body, and landing gear of the -400F, plus an auxiliary fuel tank in the forward cargo hold, and an optional second one.
The first 747-400ER was rolled out in June 2002, and flew for the first time on July 31, 2002.
Performance
747-400 -
Max cruising speed 939 km/h (507kt)
Long range cruising speed 907 km/h (490kt).
Range with 420 three class pax at 396,895 kg (875,000lb) MTOW:
13,491 km (7284 nm).
Range with PW-4000s, 13,444 km (7259 nm).
Range with GEs, 13,214 km (7135 nm) with RB-211s.
747-400ER - Range at MTOW 14,205 km (7670 nm).
747-400ERF - Range at MTOW 9200 km (4970 nm).
Dimensions
Wing span 64.44 m
Length 70.67 m
Height 19.41 m
Wing area 541.2 m2
Capacity
747-400 - Flightcrew of two.
Typical three class seating for 416 (23 first, 78 business and 315 economy class pax). Cargo hold 170.5 m3 or 151 m3.
747-400ER - Same as -400, but cargo hold 158.6 m3 or 137 m3.
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Developed from the Boeing 747-300, include a new, two crew digital flight deck with six large CRT displays, an increased span wing with winglets.
It also have got new engines, recontoured wing/fuselage fairing, a new interior, lower basic but increased max takeoff weights, and greater range.
The 747-400ER
The -400ER has the same size as the -400, but has more range or payload capability.
The MTOW was increased by 15,870kg (35,000lb) to 412,770kg (910,000lb), giving a further range of 805km (435nm) or a 6800kg (15,000lb) greater payload.
The -400ER also features a new cabin interior with larger luggage bins, and several flight deck improvements.
The -400ER incorporates the strengthened wing, body, and landing gear of the -400F, plus an auxiliary fuel tank in the forward cargo hold, and an optional second one.
The first 747-400ER was rolled out in June 2002, and flew for the first time on July 31, 2002.
Performance
747-400 -
Max cruising speed 939 km/h (507kt)
Long range cruising speed 907 km/h (490kt).
Range with 420 three class pax at 396,895 kg (875,000lb) MTOW:
13,491 km (7284 nm).
Range with PW-4000s, 13,444 km (7259 nm).
Range with GEs, 13,214 km (7135 nm) with RB-211s.
747-400ER - Range at MTOW 14,205 km (7670 nm).
747-400ERF - Range at MTOW 9200 km (4970 nm).
Dimensions
Wing span 64.44 m
Length 70.67 m
Height 19.41 m
Wing area 541.2 m2
Capacity
747-400 - Flightcrew of two.
Typical three class seating for 416 (23 first, 78 business and 315 economy class pax). Cargo hold 170.5 m3 or 151 m3.
747-400ER - Same as -400, but cargo hold 158.6 m3 or 137 m3.
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Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart 1897 - 1937
The world's most famous female aviator disappeared in 1937, as she attempted to become the first woman to fly around the world.
With her navigator, Fred Noonan, her Lockheed Electra was last heard from about 100 miles from the tiny Pacific atoll, Howland Island, on July 2, 1937.
Time line of Her Aviation Achievements
October 22, 1922 - Set women's altitude record of 14,000 feet.
June 17-18, 1928 - First woman to fly across the Atlantic; 20 hrs 40 min (Fokker F7, Friendship).
August 1929 - Placed third in the First Women's Air Derby, aka the Powder Puff Derby; upgraded from her Avian to a Lockheed Vega.
Fall 1929- Elected as an official for National Aeronautic Association and encouraged the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) to establish separate world altitude, speed and endurance records for women
June 25, 1930 - Set women's speed record for 100 kilometers with no load, and with a load of 500 kg.
July 5, 1930 - Set speed record for of 181.18 mph.
April 8, 1931 - Set woman's autogiro altitude record with 18,415 feet (in a Pitcairn autogiro).
May 20-21, 1932 - First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic; 14 hrs 56 min (it was also the 5th anniversary of Lindberg's Atlantic flight; awarded National Geographic Society's gold medal from President Herbert Hoover; Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross.
August 24-25, 1932 - First woman to fly solo non-stop coast to coast; set women's non-stop transcontinental speed record, flying 2,447.8 miles in 19 hrs 5 min.
Fall 1932 - Elected president of the Ninety Nines, a new women's aviation club which she helped to form.
July 7-8, 1933 - Broke her previous transcontinental speed record by making the same flight in 17 hrs 7 min.
January 11, 1935 - First person to solo the 2,408-mile distance across the Pacific between Hawaii and Oakland, California; also first flight where a civilian aircraft carried a two-way radio.
After an 18 hour flight she landed at Oakland.
May 8, 1935 - First person to fly solo non-stop from Mexico City to Newark in 14 h and 19 min.
On May 21, 1937 Erhart took off from Oakland, California, in the recently repaired Lockheed Electra, together with her navigator, Fred Noonan, on a flight around the world.
After flying around most of the planet, her destination was Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
They were to fly from Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island, a 2200 miles flight, the longest over-water leg of the trip.
To aid in radio communications, the U.S. Coat Guard cutter Itasca was stationed off Howland Island.
The Lockheed Electra took off from Lae at 0:00 Greenwich Mean Time.
8 hours later she called in to Lae for the last time. At 19:30, Itasca had the last contact with the aircraft.
Source: http://www.acepilots.com/earhart2.html
Amelia Erhart and Fred Noonan (Wikipedia)
Amelia Erhart - Lockheed Electra.
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The world's most famous female aviator disappeared in 1937, as she attempted to become the first woman to fly around the world.
With her navigator, Fred Noonan, her Lockheed Electra was last heard from about 100 miles from the tiny Pacific atoll, Howland Island, on July 2, 1937.
Time line of Her Aviation Achievements
October 22, 1922 - Set women's altitude record of 14,000 feet.
June 17-18, 1928 - First woman to fly across the Atlantic; 20 hrs 40 min (Fokker F7, Friendship).
August 1929 - Placed third in the First Women's Air Derby, aka the Powder Puff Derby; upgraded from her Avian to a Lockheed Vega.
Fall 1929- Elected as an official for National Aeronautic Association and encouraged the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) to establish separate world altitude, speed and endurance records for women
June 25, 1930 - Set women's speed record for 100 kilometers with no load, and with a load of 500 kg.
July 5, 1930 - Set speed record for of 181.18 mph.
April 8, 1931 - Set woman's autogiro altitude record with 18,415 feet (in a Pitcairn autogiro).
May 20-21, 1932 - First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic; 14 hrs 56 min (it was also the 5th anniversary of Lindberg's Atlantic flight; awarded National Geographic Society's gold medal from President Herbert Hoover; Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross.
August 24-25, 1932 - First woman to fly solo non-stop coast to coast; set women's non-stop transcontinental speed record, flying 2,447.8 miles in 19 hrs 5 min.
Fall 1932 - Elected president of the Ninety Nines, a new women's aviation club which she helped to form.
July 7-8, 1933 - Broke her previous transcontinental speed record by making the same flight in 17 hrs 7 min.
January 11, 1935 - First person to solo the 2,408-mile distance across the Pacific between Hawaii and Oakland, California; also first flight where a civilian aircraft carried a two-way radio.
After an 18 hour flight she landed at Oakland.
May 8, 1935 - First person to fly solo non-stop from Mexico City to Newark in 14 h and 19 min.
On May 21, 1937 Erhart took off from Oakland, California, in the recently repaired Lockheed Electra, together with her navigator, Fred Noonan, on a flight around the world.
After flying around most of the planet, her destination was Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
They were to fly from Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island, a 2200 miles flight, the longest over-water leg of the trip.
To aid in radio communications, the U.S. Coat Guard cutter Itasca was stationed off Howland Island.
The Lockheed Electra took off from Lae at 0:00 Greenwich Mean Time.
8 hours later she called in to Lae for the last time. At 19:30, Itasca had the last contact with the aircraft.
Source: http://www.acepilots.com/earhart2.html
Amelia Erhart and Fred Noonan (Wikipedia)
Amelia Erhart - Lockheed Electra.
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12/3/10
Transatlantic Flights
Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, in a modified Vimy IV, made the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic. They took off from Lester's Field, near St. Johns, Newfoundland on June 14, 1919, and landed June 15, 1919, at Clifden in Ireland. The time for the crossing was 16 hours, 27 minutes.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, (1902 - 1974) became the first pilot to accomplish a solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
On May 20, 1927, just after 07:50, New York time, Lindbergh took off for Paris.
At take off he barely cleared the trees and power lines at the end of the unpaved runway. The plane, The Spirit of St. Louis with its engine and pilot weighed only 2,500 pounds (1134 kg). However it carried a full load of fuel that weighed 2,700 pounds (1224 kg), that is more than doubling the weight of the plane.
Lindbergh carried with him just five sandwiches, drinking water, some maps and charts. Lindbergh flew alone for more than 30 hours, heading first toward Nova Scotia to minimize his time over water.
The next 15-hour leg over the Atlantic Ocean was a real adventure. He had only a compass and maps for navigation, and magnetic storms interfered with the compass. He had no way to account for wind, no landmarks to steer by and no one to talk to. He encountered storms and other obstacles along the way and overcame them despite the total lack of sleep.
When he finally spotted land, he was over Ireland and from there flew to Paris.
On May 21, just after 22:50 Paris time, Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Airport, just south of Paris.
Over 150,000 Parisians rushed towards his aircraft. In the coming days, Lindbergh became the most photographed, most filmed, and most famous living person on earth.
On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" 5,810 kilometers (3,610 miles) between Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, and Paris, France, in 33 hours, 30 minutes.
"Spirit of St. Louis"
Wingspan: 14 m (46 ft)
Length: 8 m (27 ft 8 in)
Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Weight, gross: 2,330 kg (5,135 lb)
Weight, empty: 975 kg (2,150 lb)
Engine: Wright Whirlwind J-5C, 223hp
Manufacturer: Ryan Airlines Co., San Diego, Calif., 1927
Five years to the day that American aviator Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, female aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first pilot to repeat this, landing her plane in Ireland after flying across the North Atlantic.
Earhart flew over 2,000 miles (3200 km) from Newfoundland to Ireland in just under 15 hours.
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12/2/10
North Pole History
The adventure of the polar ice
For centuries explorers have dreamt of reaching the North Pole.
For very long, the arctic was unexplored and unknown territory.
In 1897 the Swedish explorer and engineer, Andre and his crew of two men attempted to reach the North Pole from the Spits burg in a gas balloon, but failed.
In 1907 the American pilot Wellman tried to reach the North Pole by airship, but failed.
In 1925 Roald Amundsen, who was the first man to reach the South Pole, tried to reach the North Pole by aircraft, but failed, but he was not deterred.
An American Millionaire, Ellsworth, invested money in a new project for Amundsen, and an Italian Airship constructor and pilot General Umberto Nobile agreed to fly the ship called “Norge” (Norway).
On the 11:th of May 1926, Norway took off from Kings Bay on the Spitzburg island with a crew of 16 men plus one dog. They flew over an ice cap that no person had ever seen and they reached the north pole the following day. After crossing the pole they continued to Alaska.
In 1952, SAS, the Scandinavian Airlines System started test flights from Scandinavia to USA, and on the 15:th of November 1954 SAS was the first airline in the world to open the polar route from Copenhagen to Los Angeles. On the 24:th of February 1957, SAS opened the second trans arctic route to Tokyo over the geographical North Pole.
In 1958 the US nuclear submarine Nautilus sailed underneath the ice of the North Pole. Afterwards the captain of the submarine wrote to general Nobile that without their previous daring flights in 1926, we would not have known enough to be able to conduct this underwater expedition.
Later expeditions to the arctic have involved icebreaker ships and even a Russian expedition with people parachuting over the North Pole.
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For centuries explorers have dreamt of reaching the North Pole.
For very long, the arctic was unexplored and unknown territory.
In 1897 the Swedish explorer and engineer, Andre and his crew of two men attempted to reach the North Pole from the Spits burg in a gas balloon, but failed.
In 1907 the American pilot Wellman tried to reach the North Pole by airship, but failed.
In 1925 Roald Amundsen, who was the first man to reach the South Pole, tried to reach the North Pole by aircraft, but failed, but he was not deterred.
An American Millionaire, Ellsworth, invested money in a new project for Amundsen, and an Italian Airship constructor and pilot General Umberto Nobile agreed to fly the ship called “Norge” (Norway).
On the 11:th of May 1926, Norway took off from Kings Bay on the Spitzburg island with a crew of 16 men plus one dog. They flew over an ice cap that no person had ever seen and they reached the north pole the following day. After crossing the pole they continued to Alaska.
In 1952, SAS, the Scandinavian Airlines System started test flights from Scandinavia to USA, and on the 15:th of November 1954 SAS was the first airline in the world to open the polar route from Copenhagen to Los Angeles. On the 24:th of February 1957, SAS opened the second trans arctic route to Tokyo over the geographical North Pole.
In 1958 the US nuclear submarine Nautilus sailed underneath the ice of the North Pole. Afterwards the captain of the submarine wrote to general Nobile that without their previous daring flights in 1926, we would not have known enough to be able to conduct this underwater expedition.
Later expeditions to the arctic have involved icebreaker ships and even a Russian expedition with people parachuting over the North Pole.
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Trans European Flights
The History of Trans European Flights
In the early ears of European flying history, around the years of 1900 – 1910, aviation developed rapidly, but flying was still a dangerous adventure.
Louis Blériot (1 July 1872 – 2 August 1936) was the first pilot to fly across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he in 1909 crossed the English Channel.
Blériot created the world's first successful monoplane, the Blériot V, but this model crashed easily. However, in 1909, he created the Blériot XI, which was more stable.
Blériot took off just after dawn, at 04:30 on 25 July 1909, an flew at an altitude of about 250 feet (76 m). Soon after take off the weather deteriorated and Blériot lost sight of any landmarks, and rapidly outpaced the destroyer escort. He flew 36.6 km from Les Baraques near Calais, to Dover. The flight took 37 minutes.
In passenger air traffic, airships, lighter then air aircraft, ruled the skies, but this was soon to change.
The first regular flight connections in Europe was between major cities like London and Paris. Trans continental flights to distant regions followed.
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East.
Imperial Airways, 1936 Brochure for the airline, illustrated with the first Short Empire flying boat Canopus.
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In the early ears of European flying history, around the years of 1900 – 1910, aviation developed rapidly, but flying was still a dangerous adventure.
Louis Blériot (1 July 1872 – 2 August 1936) was the first pilot to fly across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he in 1909 crossed the English Channel.
Blériot created the world's first successful monoplane, the Blériot V, but this model crashed easily. However, in 1909, he created the Blériot XI, which was more stable.
Blériot took off just after dawn, at 04:30 on 25 July 1909, an flew at an altitude of about 250 feet (76 m). Soon after take off the weather deteriorated and Blériot lost sight of any landmarks, and rapidly outpaced the destroyer escort. He flew 36.6 km from Les Baraques near Calais, to Dover. The flight took 37 minutes.
In passenger air traffic, airships, lighter then air aircraft, ruled the skies, but this was soon to change.
The first regular flight connections in Europe was between major cities like London and Paris. Trans continental flights to distant regions followed.
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East.
Imperial Airways, 1936 Brochure for the airline, illustrated with the first Short Empire flying boat Canopus.
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Introduction
Join us in the footsteps of the great explorers, writing new history, breaking new groun. See our planet as very few people will ever see it.
I dedicate this site to the great explorers who paved the way for our modern air travel.
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I dedicate this site to the great explorers who paved the way for our modern air travel.
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12/1/10
Contents
Sitemap:
Foreword
Sitemap
Introduction
History
Trans European Flights
North Pole History
For contents, please see Contents and Aviation Time Line on the right.
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Foreword
Sitemap
Introduction
History
Trans European Flights
North Pole History
For contents, please see Contents and Aviation Time Line on the right.
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Fly Around the World
We live on a wonderful planet.
Many places around the world is normally hidden for our eyes.
This page is about flying around the world.
Join us on a flight around the World!
Welcome to the Blue Planet!
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Many places around the world is normally hidden for our eyes.
This page is about flying around the world.
Join us on a flight around the World!
Welcome to the Blue Planet!
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