Worlds longest manned flight

Did you know? I didn't

The world's longest manned flight was 64 days, 22 hours and 19 minutes in this Cessna 172. During this period it was refueled over 128 times by the pictured truck. The pilots: Robert Timm and John Cook from La Vegas. (1958)


Would cost a small fortune for the fuel these days


Paul

I think that's a challenge, aimed at you, Lang. :evil:

Not for me. Just imagine the dedication it would take for two blokes to sit with shoulders touching (or one seat laid back for a bed) for over two months in a C172.

Imagine yourself in a small car driving continuously for two months around Australia, never switching the engine off, never stopping night and day, sleeping in the car one at a time, washing with a wet rag, squatting on the seat to go to the toilet with a tanker coming alongside 3 times a day to pass the fuel hose and supplies through the window while you kept driving.

You might run it past your missus to go for the record.

Lang

www.damninteresting.com/the-unceasing-cessna-hacienda/

The above link is from a site I read daily ... They featured this story a while back

That is an amazing story, I wonder if authorities would even allow something like that today ?


Paul

Paul

CASA would stop it on the first suggestion with a long list of things about pilot fatigue, exceeding allowable monthly flying hours and of course the aircraft missing its compulsory 100 hour check.

If I had enough motivation 30 years ago I might have had a go but operating off a private airstrip and over large properties which had the owners permission. Nothing that the clowns could do short of shooting you down. I think a judge might be quite lenient after 60 minutes got hold of the story. Easier to be forgiven than get permission.

Lang

Lang wrote:

Paul

CASA would stop it on the first suggestion with a long list of things about pilot fatigue, exceeding allowable monthly flying hours and of course the aircraft missing its compulsory 100 hour check.

If I had enough motivation 30 years ago I might have had a go but operating off a private airstrip and over large properties which had the owners permission. Nothing that the clowns could do short of shooting you down. I think a judge might be quite lenient after 60 minutes got hold of the story. Easier to be forgiven than get permission.


Lang

What a wonderful and typical Aussie attitude, making me swell with pride.

I thought as much for these days Lang

Still a amazing story


Paul

I wonder if a turbo prop plane would be better suited, I dont think they would carbon up like a liston engine

I'm still quite stunned by this stuff


Paul

Paul

Turbo prop is not that efficient at low altitudes and there is no way you could do two months sucking on oxygen at altitude.

Aircraft piston engines do not carbon up any more than a car engine, probably less because they would be running just under or just over the max temperature lean mixture for best fuel economy. You have to continuously lean out an aircraft engine as you climb or it starts choofing with rich mixture. C172 normally lean until it runs rough (scares the passengers) then richen very slightly until it it runs smooth every couple of thousand feet in the climb.

More fancy aircraft have exhaust gas temperature gauges and you get a much more precise mixture about 15 degrees off the lean peak or you can even push it past the peak and it will start to cool through lack of fuel back to a safe temperature. Not good power but wonderful fuel consumption. Running on the peak lean temperature will burn valves or put a hole in a piston.

Lang