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The longest non-stop solo airplane flight in history (4 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes) was achieved by André Borschberg in the Swiss solar airplane Solar Impulse .[1]
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 manned airplane or glider flights and has never recognized any duration records for helicopters.
Aeroplane
Non-refueled, manned
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
[2]
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
[1] [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, manned
The Cessna 172, used by Robert Timm and John Cook, hanging in McCarran Airport.
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
McCarran 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 Scotsman
Refueled from moving truck on ground
[34] [35]
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
[36]
42:00:02:00
March 15 to April 26, 1949
Fullerton, California
Dick Riedel and Bill Barris
Aeronca Sedan , Sunkist Lady
[37]
30:06:00:00
October 1–30, 1939
Long Beach, California
Wes Carroll and Clyde Schlieper
Piper Cub seaplane, Spirit of Kay
[38] [39]
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
[40]
23:01:41:30
June 11 and July 4, 1930
Chicago, Illinois
Brothers John and Kenneth Hunter
Stinson SM-1 Detroiter
[41]
17:12:17:00
July 13–30, 1929
St. Louis, Missouri
Dale Jackson and Forest O'Brine
Curtiss Robin
[42]
10:06:43:32
July 2–12, 1929
Culver City, California
Loren W. Mendell and Roland B. Reinhart
Buhl Airsedan , Angeleno
[43] [44]
07:06:00:00
June 30 to July 6, 1929
Cleveland, Ohio
Roy Mitchell and Byron K. Newcomb
Single engine monoplane named The City of Cleveland
Not recognized as an official record by FAI because it did not exceed previous record by at least 1%.
[45]
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
[46]
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
[47]
02:12:07:00
June 1–4, 1928
Tirlemont , Belgium
Louis Crooy and Sgt. Victor Groenen
De Havilland DH-9
[48]
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
[49]
Airline, scheduled
Not an FAI category. See Non-stop flight .
Aeroplane, unmanned
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilot
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
336:22:08
July 9–23, 2010
Yuma Proving Ground , Arizona
Unmanned
QinetiQ Zephyr 7
[52]
121:23:34
October 18-23, 2017
Wallops Flight Facility , Virginia
Unmanned
Vanilla Aircraft VA001
[53]
81:24:10
July 14–17, 2015
Rafz, Switzerland
Unmanned
AtlantikSolar AS-2
[54]
55:56:14
November 30-December 2, 2016
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Unmanned
Vanilla Aircraft VA001
Current FAI ratified Class U-1.c record
[55]
30:24:01
March 20–21, 2001
Edwards Air Force Base , California
Unmanned
Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk
[56]
Helicopter
Manned, 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".
[57]
Unmanned
Free balloon, manned
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
[59]
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
[60]
268:20:00
July 12–23, 2016
Northam, WA Australia; circumnavigation
Fedor Konyukhov
Cameron Balloons R-550
Shortest time around the world
[61]
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
[62]
Airship
Glider
Duration (hhh :mm :ss )
Date
Location
Pilot
Aircraft
Comments
Reference
71:05:00
July 28–30, 1961
Honolulu, Hawaii
Geza Vass and Guy Davis
[65]
56:15:00
April 2–4, 1952
Romanin les Alpilles near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence , France
Charles Atger
Arsenal Air 100
[66]
Spacecraft, manned
Duration that a specific person continuously occupies the spacecraft while in orbit
Aerospacecraft, orbital, manned
References
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^ a b c Centennial of Flight Commission, 1908 Flight Log for Camp d'Auvours, Le Mans, France
^ a b c d Centennial of Flight Commission, 1908 Flight Log for Ft. Myer, Va.
^ a b c d e f Centennial of Flight Commission, 1905 Flight Log for Huffman Prairie, Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio
^ a b c Centennial of Flight Commission, 1904 Flight Log for Huffman Prairie, Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio
^ a b Centennial of Flight Commission, 1903 Flight Log for Kitty Hawk, N.C.
^ AOPA Pilot , March 2008
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Extremes of motion
Speed Distance Endurance See also
General Military Accidents / incidents Records