What aircraft holds the world's record for flight endurance (longest non-stop flying)?

In December 1958 and January and February 1959, two men flew a mission-modified Cessna 172 around and around over the desert Southwest for 64 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes.

Believe it or not, they regularly transferred fuel from a truck driving on a long, straight stretch of roadway via a hose they lifted up to the airplane. A Ford truck, donated by Cashman Auto in Las Vegas, was outfitted with a fuel pump, tank, and other paraphernalia required to support the aircraft in flight. When fuel was required, a rendezvous would be arranged on a stretch of straight road in the desert near Blythe, California. An electric winch lowered a hook, the fuel pump hose was picked up, and Timm or Cook inserted it into the belly tank. It took a little more than three minutes to fill the belly tank.

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15 Comments

John Cogar

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. The flight endurance record is the longest amount of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing.1

Ian Swindale

To me that's not what I would call a long non-stop flight. Refueling so often - give me a break that's ridiculous

billyboy915

lls, It didn't land to refuel! That's non-stop flying!

billyboy915

Ian Swindale, It didn't land to refuel! That's non-stop flying!

lls

...if you have to stop to refuel, that's not a non-stop flight...even with commercial air planes...

Ken Putnam

Sandra Caulfield, That is the generally accepted definition Trick question should NEVER have been accepted

Ken Putnam

Trick question should NEVER have been accepted

John Seiple

Question fail. I always ask myself on questions like this after the answer is revealed if the vital information was exempted on purpose or was it just an oversight — in this particular instance the vital information was the refueling. Think it through new writers. The biggest question writers should ask themselves before submission is ... “Will others make the same assumptions that I do with the information I am giving?”

Robert Oldenburg

I assumed refueling, but I also assumed military aircraft

Sandra Caulfield

Trick question. I was under the impression there was no re-fueling.

Bob Lash

Around the world in 12 hrs?? It would have to average 2000 MPH!!

Peter Bennett

The question did not mention refuelling

Diana Newman

The Solar Impulse holds the record for the longest continuous flight using solar power at 26 hours, 19 minutes and 10 seconds. Later Solar Impulse 2 completed a round - the - world trip in 12 hours.