Aircraft Quiz No. 120

[Doug Robertson]

1. What aircraft was the very first to fly nonstop around the world?

2. What was the aircraft's nomenclature, and given name?

3. Total mileage completed?

4. How many times was it in-flight tanked (refueled)?

5. Full date of flight completion? (Month, Day, Year)

6. Journey exact time in hours and minutes?

[Canonman]

USAF Boeing B-50 Superfortress

Lady Luck II, a B-50 from 43rd Bombardment Group, equipped with 12 .50 caliber machine guns, fuel tank added to bomb bay for extra range. Total crew of 14, double crew with 3 pilots under the command of Capt James Gallagher and they rotated shifts every 4 to 6 hours, ground speed average 294 mph (401 km/h 216kn) @ 10,000 to 20,000 ft (3000 to 6100 m)

23,452 miles, 37,742 km

4 times by a KB-29M, Superfortesses, 1 near Lajes Air Base, Azores/2 Dahahran airfield, Saudi Arabia/3 Clark Airbase, Philippines/4 Hickam Air Force Base Hawaii, using the grappled-line looped-hose technique

Started 1221 hrs, 1949-02-26, finished 1022 hrs, 1949-03-02

94 hrs & 1 minute, 2 minutes before of estimated time of arrival at take off

[Doug Robertson]

Congratulations to Canonman! You got every question about the thrill of accomplishment would over-ride any crew personal negatives, if any. I absolutely appreciate your correct; with even more cogent flight data on the very first non-stop flight around the world! Imagine being cooped up in a flight of 94 hours, 1 minute! I appreciate your additional information about this quiz. This record-a first, can never be topped!