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Length of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing
The current record for the longest non-stop, non-refueled airplane flight in history (9 days and 3 minutes) was achieved in the Rutan Voyager The flight endurance record is the longest amount of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing. It can be a solo event, or multiple people can take turns piloting the aircraft, as long as all pilots remain in the aircraft. The limit initially was the amount of fuel that could be stored for the flight, but aerial refueling extended that parameter. Due to safety concerns, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) no longer recognizes new records for the duration of crewed airplane or glider flights and has never recognized any duration records for helicopters.
Aeroplane
Non-refueled, crewed
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilots
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
216:03:44
December 14–23, 1986
Edwards Air Force Base , circumnavigation
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager
Rutan Voyager
[ 1]
117:51:00
June 28 to July 3, 2015
Nagoya , Japan – Kalaeloa Airport , Hawaii , United States (8263 kilometres)
André Borschberg
Solar Impulse 2
Solar plane, without any fuel; also longest solo airplane flight of any type
[ 2] [ 3]
84:32:00
May 25–28, 1931
Jacksonville, Florida
Walter Edwin Lees and Frederic Brossy
Bellanca J-2
Last record recognized by FAI
[ 4]
75:23:07
February 26 to March 1, 1931
La Sénia , Algeria
Lucien Bossoutrot and Maurice Rossi
Blériot 110
[ 5]
67:13:55
May 30 to June 2, 1930
Montecelio , Italy
Umberto Maddalena and Fausto Cecconi
Savoia-Marchetti S.64
[ 6]
65:25:00
July 5–7, 1928
Dessau , Germany
Johann Risztics and Wilhelm Zimmermann
Junkers W 33
Also surpassed the refueled record
[ 7]
52:22:31.8
August 3–5, 1927
Dessau , Germany
Cornelius Edzard and Johann Risztics
Junkers W 33
[ 8]
51:11:25
April 12–14, 1927
Long Island , New York
Clarence Duncan Chamberlin and Bertrand Blanchard Acosta
Wright-Bellanca WB-2 "Columbia"
[ 9]
45:11:59
August 7–9, 1925
Chartres , France
Maurice Drouhin and Jules Landry
Farman F.60 Goliath
[ 10]
37:59:10
July 16–17, 1924
Chartres , France
Etienne Coupet and Maurice Drouhin
Farman F-60
Also surpassed the refueled record
[ 11]
36:04:34
April 16–17, 1923
Wilbur Wright Field , Dayton, Ohio
Oakley George Kelly and John Arthur Macready
Fokker T-2
[ 12]
34:14:07
October 14–15, 1922
Le Bourget , France
Lucien Bossoutrot and Robert Drouhin
Farman F.60 Goliath
[ 13]
26:19:35
December 29–30, 1921
Roosevelt Field, New York ;[ 14] FAI record says Jacksonville, Florida
Edward A. Stinson and Lloyd Bertaud
Junkers-Larsen JL-6
First record recognized by FAI
[ 15]
24:19:07
June 3–4, 1920
Ville Sauvage la Dordogne, France
Lucien Bossoutrot and Jean Bernard
Farman F.60 Goliath
[ 16]
24:12:00
July 10–11, 1914
Johannisthal Air Field near Berlin, Germany
Reinhold Böhm
Albatros biplane
[ 17] [ 18]
21:49:00
June 28–29, 1914
Johannisthal Air Field near Berlin, Germany
Werner Landmann
Albatros biplane
[ 19]
13:22:00
September 11, 1912
Étampes airfield in France
Alexandre Fourny (Fourney)
Maurice Farman MF-2
[ 20] [ 21]
11:01:29
September 1, 1911
Buc , France
Alexandre Fourny (Fourney)
Maurice Farman biplane
[ 22] [ 23]
08:12:45
December 18, 1910
Étampes airfield in France
Henri Farman
Maurice Farman biplane
[ 24]
06:01:00
October 28, 1910
Buc , France
Maurice Tabuteau
Maurice Farman MF-2
[ 25]
05:03:05
July 10, 1910
Reims , France
Jan Olieslagers
Blériot monoplane
[ 25] [ 26]
04:17:35
November 3, 1909
Mourmelon-le-Grand , France
Henri Farman
H. Farman
[ 27]
02:18:33.6
December 31, 1908
Camp d’Auvours near Le Mans , France
Wilbur Wright
Wright Model A
[ 28]
01:54:00.4
December 18, 1908
Camp d’Auvours near Le Mans , France
Wilbur Wright
Wright Model A
[ 28]
01:31:25.8
September 21, 1908
Camp d’Auvours near Le Mans , France
Wilbur Wright
Wright Model A
[ 28]
01:14:20
September 12, 1908
Fort Myer, Virginia
Orville Wright
Wright Model A
[ 29]
01:10:24
September 11, 1908
Fort Myer, Virginia
Orville Wright
Wright Model A
[ 29]
01:05:52
September 10, 1908
Fort Myer, Virginia
Orville Wright
Wright Model A
[ 29]
01:02:15
September 9, 1908
Fort Myer, Virginia
Orville Wright
Wright Model A
[ 29]
00:59:23.8
October 5, 1905
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer III
[ 30]
00:33:17
October 4, 1905
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Orville Wright
Wright Flyer III
[ 30]
00:26:11.2
October 3, 1905
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Orville Wright
Wright Flyer III
[ 30]
00:19:56
September 29, 1905
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Orville Wright
Wright Flyer III
[ 30]
00:18:11.4
September 26, 1905
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer III
[ 30]
00:05:41
September 12, 1905
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer III
[ 30]
00:05:04
November 9, 1904
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer II
[ 31]
00:01:38
October 14, 1904
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Orville Wright
Wright Flyer II
[ 31]
00:01:35.8
September 20, 1904
Huffman Prairie , Ohio
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer II
[ 31]
00:00:59
December 17, 1903
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer
[ 32]
00:00:12
December 17, 1903
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Orville Wright
Wright Flyer
First flight
[ 32]
Refueled, crewed
The Cessna 172, used by Robert Timm and John Cook, hanging in McCarran Airport.
Robert Timm and John Cook Cessna 172 refueling
The aircraft Curtiss Robin "St. Louis" during the record flight July 13–30, 1929, St. Louis, Missouri.
Duration (dd :hh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilots
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
64:22:19:05
December 4, 1958, to February 7, 1959
Harry Reid International Airport , Las Vegas, Nevada
Robert Timm and John Cook
Cessna 172 , Hacienda
Refueled from moving truck on ground
[ 33]
50:00:18:20
August 2, 1958, to September 21, 1958
Dallas, Texas
Jim Heth and Bill Burkhart
Cessna 172 , The Old Scotchman
Refueled from moving truck on ground
[ 33] [ 34]
46:20:00:00
August 24 to October 10, 1949
Yuma, Arizona
Bob Woodhouse and Woody Jongeward
Aeronca Sedan , City of Yuma
Attempted to persuade government officials to reopen Yuma Army Air Field
[ 35]
42:00:02:00
March 15 to April 26, 1949
Fullerton, California
Dick Riedel and Bill Barris
Aeronca Sedan , Sunkist Lady
[ 36]
30:06:00:00
October 1–30, 1939
Long Beach, California
Wes Carroll and Clyde Schlieper
Piper Cub seaplane, Spirit of Kay
[ 37] [ 38]
27:05:34:00
June 4 to July 1, 1935
Meridian, Mississippi
Brothers Al and Fred Key
Curtiss Robin , Ole Miss
Invented a spill-free mid-air refueling nozzle
[ 39]
23:01:41:30
June 11 and July 4, 1930
Chicago, Illinois
Brothers John and Kenneth Hunter
Stinson SM-1 Detroiter
[ 40]
17:12:17:00
July 13–30, 1929
St. Louis, Missouri
Dale Jackson and Forest O'Brine
Curtiss Robin
[ 41]
10:06:43:32
July 2–12, 1929
Culver City, California
Loren W. Mendell and Roland B. Reinhart
Buhl Airsedan , Angeleno
[ 42] [ 43]
07:06:00:00
June 30 to July 6, 1929
Cleveland, Ohio
Roy Mitchell and Byron K. Newcomb
Stinson SM-1 Detroiter named The City of Cleveland
Not recognized as an official record by FAI because it did not exceed previous record by at least 1%.
[ 44]
07:04:31:01
May 19–26, 1929
Ft. Worth, Texas
Reginald Robbins and James Kelly
Mahoney -Ryan Aircraft Ryan Monoplane B-1 Brougham named Fort Worth
[ 45]
06:15:40:00
January 1–7, 1929
Van Nuys Airport , California
Maj. Carl Spaatz , Capt. Ira Eaker, 1st Lt. Harry A. Halverson, 2nd Lt. Elwood Quesada, and Sgt. Roy W. Hooe
Atlantic-Fokker C2A named Question Mark
[ 46]
02:12:07:00
June 1–4, 1928
Tirlemont , Belgium
Louis Crooy and Sgt. Victor Groenen
De Havilland DH-9
[ 47]
01:13:15:14
August 27–28, 1923
Rockwell Field , California
Capt. Lowell Smith and 1st Lt. John Paul Richter
De Havilland DH-4B
First refueled flight to surpass the non-refueled record
[ 48]
Airline, scheduled
Not an FAI category. See Longest Flights
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilots
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
32:09:00
June 29, 1943 – July 18, 1945[ note 1]
Swan River , Nedlands, Western Australia to Lake Koggala , Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
several Qantas crews
Qantas Consolidated PBY Catalina
Called "The Double Sunrise " (c.3500 mi.)
271 crossings
[ 50] [ 49] [ 51]
24:56:12
August 10–11, 1938
Berlin -Staaken to Floyd Bennett Field , New York
Dipl.-Ing. Alfred Henke (flight captain), captain Rudolf von Moreau (second pilot), Paul Dierberg (operator) and Walter Kober (radio operator)
Deutsche Luft Hansa Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
(c.4000 mi.)
[ 52]
23:19:00
October 1–2, 1957
London to San Francisco
44 persons (12 crew, 32 passengers). Capt. Gordon Granger and co-pilot Herbert Ottewill[ 53]
TWA Lockheed Constellation L-1649A, F/N 307 / N7307C
(c.5350 mi.)
[ 54]
Aeroplane, uncrewed
FAI does not differentiate between non-refueled and solar aircraft
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilot
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
623:57:00
July 11 - August 8, 2018
Yuma Proving Ground , Arizona
Uncrewed
Airbus Zephyr 8
25 days, 23 hours, 57 minutes
[ 55]
454:30:00
September 13, 2021
Yuma Proving Ground , Arizona
Uncrewed
Airbus Zephyr 8
submitted for FAI U-Absolute record
[ 56]
336:22:08
July 9–23, 2010
Yuma Proving Ground , Arizona
Uncrewed
QinetiQ Zephyr 7
FAI ratified U-Absolute record
[ 57]
192:50:47
September 24 - October 4, 2021
Edwards Air Force Base , California
Uncrewed
Vanilla Unmanned
[ 58] [ 59]
121:23:34
October 18–23, 2017
Wallops Flight Facility , Virginia
Uncrewed
Vanilla Aircraft VA001
unofficial
[ 60]
81:24:10
December 5–8, 2014
Rafz, Switzerland
Uncrewed
AtlantikSolar AS-2
[ 61]
80:02:52
July 14–17, 2015
U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake
Uncrewed
Aurora Flight Sciences Orion
FAI ratified Class U-1.f record
[ 62] [ 63]
55:56:14
November 30-December 2, 2016
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Uncrewed
Vanilla Aircraft VA001
FAI ratified Class U-1.c record (retired)
[ 64] [ 65]
54:27:00
July 5-July 7, 2012
Jelgava, Latvia
Uncrewed
UAV Factory Penguin B
unofficial
[ 66]
48:01:00
April 16–18, 2013
unknown
Uncrewed
US Naval Research Laboratory Ion Tiger UAV
compressed hydrogen gas and fuel cell
[ 67]
30:24:01
March 20–21, 2001
Edwards Air Force Base , California
Uncrewed
Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk
FAI ratified Class U-2.g record (retired)
[ 68]
26:02:00
October 2009
unknown
Uncrewed
US Naval Research Laboratory Ion Tiger UAV
compressed hydrogen gas and fuel cell
[ 69]
Helicopter
Crewed, non-refueled
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilot
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
15:08:00
April 6, 1966
Culver City, California to Ormond Beach, Florida (2,213.04 mi)
Robert G. Ferry
Hughes YOH-6A
As a nonstop non-refueled trip this flight also holds the record for the longest distance flown in a helicopter without landing. FAI category: "Great circle distance, without landing".
[ 70]
Uncrewed
Free balloon, crewed
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilot
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
477:47:00
March 1–21, 1999
Château-d'Œx , Switzerland; circumnavigation
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones
Breitling Orbiter 3
[ 75]
355:50:00
June 19 – July 3, 2002
Northam, WA (Australia) circumnavigation
Steve Fossett
Cameron Balloons R-550 (N277SF)
Longest solo flight in any type of aircraft
[ 76]
268:20:00
July 12–23, 2016
Northam, WA Australia; circumnavigation
Fedor Konyukhov
Cameron Balloons R-550
Shortest time around the world
[ 77]
82:05:00
September 9–12, 1995
Wil, Switzerland to Lucincik, Ukraine (1.395,4 km)
Johann Fuerstner and Gerald Stuerzlinger
D-OSTZ Graf Zeppelin
3rd place in Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race
[ 78]
Airship
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilot
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
264:12:00
March 4 to March 15, 1957
Naval Air Station South Weymouth , Mass. to Naval Air Station Key West , Fla.
Cmdr. Jack. R. Hunt
"Snowbird" ZPG-2
via Europe, Africa
[ 79]
95:05:00
November 21 to November 25, 1917
Jambol , Bulgaria to Jambol , Bulgaria
LtCdr. Ludwig Bockholt
L95 (LZ104) Type W Zeppelin
originally destined for the Makonde Plateau , mission aborted at 16° 30′ N, 30° 0′ E, near Khartoum , Sudan after areas fit for landing were captured by British forces
[ 80]
71:00:00
October 29 to November 1, 1928
Lakehurst , NJ to Friedrichshafen , Germany
Hugo Eckener
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
[ 81]
Glider
Space station, crewed
Duration that a specific person continuously occupies the spacecraft while in orbit
Aerospacecraft, orbital, crewed
Notes
^ Note The "Double Sunrise" route continued to be operated from July 18, 1945 until April 6, 1946 by Qantas Liberators (loaned from BOAC) and Qantas Avro Lancastrians, but with shorter flown distances (departing what is now PER, stopping for refuelling at the RAF base at Minneriya, and landing at what is now CMB) and shorter flight times (faster cruise speeds).[ 49]
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Extremes of motion
Speed Distance Endurance See also
General Military Accidents / incidents Records