Tag Archives: World Record for Distance

22 April 1962

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of The Scarlett O'Hara, a record-setting Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N172L. (FAI)
Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of The Scarlett O’Hara, a record-setting Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N172L at Hanover-Langenhagen Airport, 22 April 1962. (FAI)

22 April 1962: Jackie Cochran set 18 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) records in one day flying a Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, construction number 5003, FAA registration N172L, and named The Scarlett O’Hara. The route of her flight was New Orleans–Boston–Gander–Shannon–London–Paris–Bonn, with refueling stops at Gander and Shannon.

According to the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission, Jackie Cochran “…set more speed and altitude records than any other pilot.”

The following are the FAI records that she set on 22 April 1961:

4609, 4615: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–Shannon (Ireland): 829.69 kilometers per hour (515.546 miles per hour)

4611, 4616: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–London (UK): 749.11 kilometers per hour (465.475 miles per hour)

4612, 4617: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–Paris (France): 746.22 kilometers per hour (463.680 miles per hour)

4613, 4618: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–Bonn (FRG): 728.26 kilometers per hour (452.520 miles per hour)

4638: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Gander, NF (Canada): 816.32 kilometers per hour (507.238 miles per hour)

4639, 4640: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Shannon (Ireland): 565.45 kilometers per hour (351.354 miles per hour)

4641, 4642: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–London (UK): 558.50 kilometers per hour (347.036 miles per hour)

4643, 4644: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Paris (France): 564.88 kilometers per hour (351.000 miles per hour)

4645, 4646: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Bonn (FRG): 562.56 kilometers per hour (349.559 miles per hour)

12322: Distance, New Orleans, LA (USA)–Gander, NF (Canada): 3,661.33 kilometers (2,275.045 miles)

The first production Lockheed JetStar, c/n 5001, in service with the Federal Aviation Administration, registered N1. (bizjets101)

The Lockheed L-1329 JetStar was the first in a category of small-to-medium-sized jet transports that would become known as the “business jet.” Like many Lockheed airplanes, it was designed by a team led by Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson, and he retained the first prototype as his personal transport.

The JetStar is operated by two pilots and can be configured for 8 to 10 passengers. The airplane is 60 feet, 5 inches (18.41 meters) long with a wingspan of 54 feet, 5 inches (16.59 meters) and overall height of 20 feet, 5 inches (6.22 meters). The leading edge of the wings are swept to 30°. The JetStar has an empty weight of 24,750 pounds (11,226 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 44,500 pounds.

The two prototype JetStars were powered by two Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engines, but the production models were powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT12A-8 turbojets engines which produced 3,300 pounds of thrust, each. The JetStar 731 was a modification program to replace the turbojet engines with quieter, more efficient and more powerful Garrett AiResearch TFE731 turbofan engines which increased thrust to 3,700 pounds per engine. New production JetStar II airplanes were equipped with these turbofans.

Lockheed L-1329 JetStar (FAI)

The JetStar’s cruise speed is 504 miles per hour (811 kilometers per hour) and its maximum speed is 547 miles per hour (883 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,145 meters). The service ceiling is 43,000 feet (13,105 meters) and range is 2,995 miles (4,820 kilometers).

The Lockheed JetStar was in production from 1957 to 1978. 204 were built as civil JetStars and military C-140A Flight Check and C-140B and VC-140B JetStar transports.

The JetStar flown by Jackie Cochran on her record setting flight from New Orleans to Bonn, construction number 5003, eventually was acquired by NASA and assigned to the Dryden Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was reregistered as N814NA, and used the call sign NASA 4. No longer in service, NASA 4 is on display at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California.

Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N814NA, NASA 4, on static display at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (NASA)
Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N814NA, NASA 4, on static display at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark, Palmdale, California. (NASA)

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

16–17 April 1923

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Lieutenants Oakland G. Kelly and John A. MacReady with the fuel drums for their duration flight in front of the Fokker T-2, A.S. 64233. (U.S. Air Force)
Lieutenants Oakland G. Kelly and John A. Macready with the fuel drums for their duration flight in front of the Fokker T-2, A.S. 64233. (U.S. Air Force)

16–17 April 1923: At Wilbur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, U.S. Army Air Service pilots Lieutenant Oakland George Kelly and Lieutenant John Arthur Macready set six Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for speed, distance and duration, flying the Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker T-2, serial number A.S. 64233, which they planned to fly non-stop across the United States of America.

They flew 2,500 kilometers (1,553.428 miles) at an average speed of 115.60 kilometers per hour (51.83 miles per hour);¹ 3,000 kilometers (1,864.114 miles) at 115.27 kilometers per hour (71.63 miles per hour);² 3,500 kilometers (2,174.799 miles) at 114.82 kilometers per hour (71.35 miles per hour);³ 4,000 kilometers (2,485.485 miles) at 113.93 kilometers per hour (70.79 miles per hour);⁴ flew a total distance of 4,050 kilometers (2,517 miles);⁵ and stayed aloft for 36 hours, 4 minutes, 34 seconds.⁶ Their overall average speed was 112.26 kilometers per hour (69.76 miles per hour).

Lieutenant Oakley G. Kelly (FAI)
Lieutenant Oakley George Kelly, U.S. Army Air Service. (FAI)
Lt. John A. Macready, Air Service, U.S. Army Signal Corps
Lieutenant John A. Macready, U.S. Army Air Service

The Fokker F.IV was built by Anthony Fokker’s Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek at Veere, Netherlands in 1921. The Air Service purchased two and designated the type T-2, with serial numbers A.S. 64233 and A.S. 64234.

Several modifications were made to prepare for the transcontinental flight. Normally flown by a single pilot in an open cockpit, a second set of controls was installed so that the airplane could be controlled from inside while the two pilots changed positions. On this flight, it carried 735 gallons (2,782 liters) of gasoline in three fuel tanks.

For its time, the Fokker was a large airplane: 49 feet (14.9 meters) long, with a wing span of 82 feet (25 meters). The high-wing monoplane was powered by a 1,649.3-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) liquid-cooled Liberty L12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine producing 420 horsepower. The airplane was designed to carry 8–10 passengers in an enclosed cabin.

The second Fokker T-2, A.S. 64234, also designated A-2 (ambulance). (U.S. Air Force)
The second Fokker T-2, A.S. 64234, also designated A-2 (ambulance). (U.S. Air Force)

From 2–3 May 1923, MacReady and Kelly succeeded in their non-stop transcontinental flight, flying from Roosevelt-Hazelhurst Field, Long Island, New York, to Rockwell Field (now, NAS North Island), San Diego, California,  2,470 miles (3,975 kilometers) in 26 hours, 50 minutes, 38.8 seconds, for an average speed of 92 miles per hour (148 kilometers per hour).

The U.S. Army Air Service transferred A.S. 64223 to the Smithsonian Institution in January 1924. It is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Fokker T-2, A.S. 64233 at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, 1923. (FAI)
Fokker T-2, A.S. 64233 at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, 1923. (FAI)

¹ FAI Record File Number 9312

² FAI Record File Number 9313

³ FAI Record File Number 9314

⁴ FAI Record File Number 9315

⁵ FAI Record File Number 9316

⁶ FAI Record File Number 9317

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

20 February 1972

Aviation, , , , , , , ,

20 February 1972: A United States Air Force Lockheed HC-130H Hercules, 65-0972, flew from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, Republic of China, to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, United States of America, non-stop, in 21 hours, 12 minutes. This set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Distance, 14,052.95 kilometers (8,732.10 statute miles),¹  breaking the record set 21–22 January 1971, by a U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3C Orion.² [See TDiA 21 January–8 February 1971]

The crew were: Lieutenant Colonel Edgar L. Allison, Jr., Mission Commander, of Chatanooga, Tennessee; Captain Richard J. Racette, Aircraft Commander, Niles, Illinois; Capatain David E. Gardner, Pilot, South Gate, California; Major Anthony Liparulo, Navigator, New London, Connecticut; Captain Carl E. Bennett, Navigator, Hamilton, Texas; Technical Sergeant Morelle E. Larouche, Flight Engineer, Holyoke Massachusetts; Technical Sergeant William F. Litton, Flight Engineer, Pennington Gap, Pennsylvania; Technical Sergeant Theodore Trainer, Loadmaster, Wapabo, Washington; Technical Sergeant Robert Landry, Crew Chief, New Orleans, Louisiana; Major Kenneth S. Wayne, Flight Surgeon, Oak Park, Illinois; Staff Sergeant William L. Hippert, Radio Operator, Rahway, New Jersey; and Staff Sergeant Pat E. Carrothers, Radio Operator, Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The crew was assigned to the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS).

General Jack J. Catton, Military Airlift Command, presented Lieutenant Colonel Allison the Distinguished Flying Cross, while the other crewmembers received the Air Medal.

Lockheed HC-130H Hercules 65-0977, sister ship of the record-setting aircraft. (© Lewis Grant/AirHistory.net)

¹ FAI Record File Number 8062.  Ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code.

² FAI Record File Number 8582.

© 2021, Bryan R. Swopes

11 January 1962

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Colonel Clyde P. Evely, USAF with the crew of the record-setting B-52H Stratofortress 60-0040. (U.S. Air Force)
Colonel Clyde P. Evely, USAF with the crew of the record-setting B-52H Stratofortress 60-0040. (U.S. Air Force)

11 January 1962: Colonel Clyde P. Evely, United States Air Force, and his crew flew their Boeing B-52H-150-BW Stratofortress, 60-0040, of the 4136th Strategic Wing, from Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa to Torrejon Air Base, Spain. Called Operation Persian Rug, this was an unrefueled 21 hour, 52 minute flight that covered 12,532.30 miles (20,168.78 kilometers) at an average 604.44 miles per hour (972.75 kilometers per hour) and set 11 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and seven National Aeronautic Association records for speed over a recognized course.

The route of Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 60-0040. (The Baltimore Sun, 12 January 1962, Page 2, Columns 6–7)

Others on the flight were Major Robert Carson and Captain Henry V. Sienkiewicz, second pilot and co-pilot; Major Edmund Bible, navigator; Major Dwight Baker, radar navigator; Captain Edward McLaughlin, electronics warfare officer; 1st Lieutenant William Telford, second navigator; and Master Sergeant Richard Posten, gunner. Chuck Tibbetts, vice president of the National Aeronautic Association, flew aboard the bomber to monitor the record-setting flight.

FAI Record File Num [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Distance
Performance: 20 168.78 km
Date: 1962-01-11
Course/Location: Okinawa (Japan) – Madrid (Spain)
Claimant Clyde P. Evely (USA)
Aeroplane: Boeing B-52H
Engines: 8 Pratt & Whitney TF-33(military desig.for JT-3D)

FAI Record File Num [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a recognised course
Performance: 929.30 km/h
Date: 1962-01-11
Course/Location: Okinawa (Japan) – Madrid (Spain)
Claimant Clyde P. Evely (USA)
Aeroplane: Boeing B-52H
Engines: 8 Pratt & Whitney TF-33(military desig.for JT-3D)

FAI Record File Num [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a recognised course
Performance: 972.75 km/h
Date: 1962-01-11
Course/Location: Okinawa (Japan) – Madrid (Spain)
Claimant Clyde P. Evely (USA)
Aeroplane: Boeing B-52H (60040)
Engines: 8 Pratt & Whitney TF-33(military desig.for JT-3D)

The flight crew of 60-0040 received awards for their world record flight, at Torrejon Air Base, Spain, 11 January 1962. (U.S. Air Force)
President John F. Kennedy congratulates the crew of 60-0040. This photograph shows the crew and President Kennedy with a different airplane, B-52G 57-6486. (U.S. Air Force)
President John F. Kennedy congratulates the crew of 60-0040. This photograph shows the crew and President Kennedy with a different airplane, B-52G 57-6486. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. (U.S. Air Force)

The B-52H is a sub-sonic, swept wing, long-range strategic bomber. It has a crew of five. The airplane is 159 feet, 4 inches (48.6 meters) long, with a wing span of 185 feet (56.4 meters). It is 40 feet, 8 inches (12.4 meters) high to the top of the vertical fin. Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) is 488,000 pounds (221,353 kilograms).

There are eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-3 turbofan engines mounted in two-engine pods suspended under the wings on four pylons. Each engine produces a maximum of 17,000 pounds of thrust (75.620 kilonewtons). The TF-33 is a two-spool axial-flow turbofan engine with 2 fan stages, 14-stage compressor stages (7 stage intermediate pressure, 7 stage high-pressure) and and 4-stage turbine (1 stage high-pressure, 3-stage low-pressure). The engine is 11 feet, 10 inches (3.607 meters) long, 4 feet, 5.0 inches (1.346 meters) in diameter and weighs 3,900 pounds (15,377 kilograms).

The B-52H can carry approximately 70,000 pounds (31,750 kilograms) of ordnance, including free-fall bombs, precision-guided bombs, thermonuclear bombs and cruise missiles, naval mines and anti-ship missiles.

The bomber’s cruise speed is 520 miles per hour (837 kilometers per hour) and its maximum speed is 650 miles per hour (1,046 kilometers per hour) at 23,800 feet (7,254 meters) at a combat weight of 306,350 pounds. Its service ceiling is 47,700 feet (14,539 meters) at the same combat weight. The unrefueled range is 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers).

With inflight refueling, the Stratofortress’s range is limited only by the endurance of its five-man crew.

The B-52H is the only version still in service. 102 were built and as of 27 September 2016, 76 are still in service. Beginning in 2013, the Air Force began a fleet-wide technological upgrade for the B-52H, including a digital avionics and communications system, as well as an internal weapons bay upgrade. The bomber is expected to remain in service until 2040.

The record-setting B-52, 60-0040, named The Black Widow, had been on a 7-hour training flight with an eight-man crew, 5–6 December 1988. They were practicing “touch and go” landings and takeoffs at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, near Marquette, Michigan.

After the third landing, the bomber just became airborne, when at 0115 EST,

“. . . At about 75 ft airborne the fuel boost pump overheated due to lack of fuel to cool it down, and, because, the spark arrester was missing from the shaft of the boost pump allowing sparks into the empty tank. The fumes then combusted and exploded inflight causing the tail section to separate from the fuselage. We went crashing to the ground over the runway. Upon hitting the ground the wing section separated from the cockpit. Both went skidding down the runway and came to rest just 3400 ft from impact. The cockpit was blocking the alert ramp for the tankers. All 8 crewmembers survived, each with varying degrees of injury. The Pilot, copilot and IP sustained the more serious injuries, while the rest of us had multiple broken bones and burns but nothing terribly serious.”

— Captain Anthony D. Phillips, Radar Navigator.

Colonel Clyde P. Evely retired from the Air Force after thirty years service. He died 7 April 2010 at 88 years of age.

The remains of "Balls 40", B-52H-150-BW 60-0040, The Black Widow, at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Gwinn, Michigan, 6 December 1988. (U.S. Air Force)
The remains of  B-52H-150-BW 60-0040, The Black Widow, at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Gwinn, Michigan, 6 December 1988. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

10 November 2005

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Boeing lead test pilot for the 777, Captain Suzanna Darcy-Henneman, in the left seat of a Boeing 777-200LR. (Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum L60826)

10 November 2005: Captain Suzanna Darcy-Henneman set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record for distance flown by a commercial aircraft when she and a crew of 7 additional pilots flew a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner, N6066Z, non-stop from Hong Kong (HKG) to London Heathrow (LHR), a distance of 21,601.33 kilometers (13422.44 miles), in 22 hours, 22 minutes.¹ During the flight, Captain Darcy-Henneman also set two speed records. The 777 averaged 981.57 kilometers per hour (609.92 miles per hour) from Los Angeles to New York,² and 910.54 kilometers per hour (565.78 miles per hour) from New York to London.³

The record-setting Boeing 777-200LR touches down at Heathrow. (Boeing)

Suzanna Darcy joined Boeing’s engineering department in 1974. She learned to fly with the Boeing Employees Flying Association. Darcy graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Aeronautical Engineering. She then became a ground school instructor for Boeing’s Model 757 and 767 airliners.

In 1985, Boeing assigned Darcy-Hanneman as a production test pilot, the first woman to hold that position with the company. She was also the first woman to earn a captain’s rating on the 747-400, and is also rated on the 737, 757, 767 and 777.  She performed flight testing on the 737-300 and was the project test pilot for the 777-200LR.

“Capt. Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, the first female test pilot of Boeing, peers from the cockpit of a 777-200LR at Everett’s Boeing Plant in 2005.” (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

In 2008, Captain Darcy-Hanneman became Chief Pilot, Boeing Commercial Airplane Services. She is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2010. She retired from Boeing in 2015.

Boeing 777-200LR N6066Z. (Unattributed)
Boeing 777-200LR N6066Z. (Unattributed)

The Boeing 777-200LR was designed for very long distance airline routes. It is operated by two pilots, and can carry a maximum 317 passengers. The airplane is 209 feet, 1 inch (63.729 meters) long with a wingspan of 212 feet, 7 inches (64.795 meters) and overall height of 61 feet, 1 inch (18.618 meters). It has an empty weight of 320,000 pounds (145,150 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 766,000 pounds (347,452 kilograms).

The 777-200LR is powered by two General Electric GE-90-110B1 or -115B engines. The engine is dual rotor axial-flow high bypass turbofan. It has a single fan stage; 4-stage high pressure- and 9-stage low pressure compressor section; with a 2-stage high- and 6-stage low-pressure turbine. The high pressure rotor turns 9,332 r.p.m., and the low-pressure rotor turns 2,355 r.p.m. The engine is 286.67 inches (7.281 meters) long and weighs 19,316 pounds (8,761.590 kilograms). The fan has a diameter of 128 inches (3.251 meters). The GE90-115 produces a maximum 115,300 pounds of thrust (156.326 kilonewtons).

The 777-200LR has a maximum speed (MMO) of 0.89 Mach. Its maximum operating altitude is 43,100 feet (13,137 meters).

As of September 2020, Boeing had delivered sixty 777-200LRs.

¹ FAI Record File Number 12181

² FAI Record File Number 12182

³ FAI Record File Number 12183

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes