The record set by two American pilots in 1959 has not been broken yet. It was a very interesting flight, although full of madness.
The longest nonstop flight in history lasted from December 4, 1958 to February 7, 1959. It took 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes and was installed on a Cessna 172 by pilots Robert Timm and John Cook. During all this time, they traveled around the US state of Nevada, covering a total of 240 thousand km. IFLScience writes that this is 6 times longer than the length of the equator.
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The record set by the Americans has not been broken yet. The Zephyr drone completed a similar nonstop flight 2 years ago, but took 4 hours less.
Important
In general, the story of the longest non-stop flight is very strange and incredible. When a new casino hotel called the Hacienda opened in Las Vegas, the owners decided to advertise the hotel on an airplane that could break the record for the longest flight. Robert Timm, a pilot during World War II, was working at this hotel, and the hotel owners turned to him with their crazy ideas.
A Cessna 172 aircraft was chosen for the flight, but it was improved, including the installation of an additional fuel tank. However, the problem of refueling the aircraft in the air remained because even the modifications made to the aircraft did not allow this. Therefore, it was decided to refuel the plane during the flight with a truck coming from below.
The idea, successfully implemented, was this: a truck approached the flying plane, the pilots lowered it, and then lifted into the plane a hose through which fuel was pumped into the tank using a pump.
Robert Timm and aircraft mechanic John Cook took off from Las Vegas Airport on December 4, 1958, and the rest circled the state of Nevada for almost 65 days.
Meanwhile, the crew took food, water and other supplies from the truck while refueling the plane. When it came to going to the toilet, Timm and Cook used a special portable toilet designed for outdoor recreation. When it was full, the contents were thrown into the desert.
The two pilots took turns sleeping on the mattress at the back of the plane’s cabin, but they could not always fall asleep. Due to lack of sleep, fatigue and stress, the crew was on the verge of going crazy, and the two pilots gradually went crazy and started talking all kinds of nonsense.
Meanwhile, the aircrew nearly died due to lack of sleep. On the 36th day of the flight, Timm, who was at the controls of the plane, fell asleep and the flight continued on autopilot for about an hour at an altitude of 1.2 km. A few days later, the autopilot malfunctioned and the pilots were never able to sleep at the controls again.
As the 65th day of non-stop flight was coming to an end, the two pilots decided they had had enough and landed the plane. Robert Timm died in 1976 and John Cook died in 1995.
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Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.