Flight distance record
This list of flight distance records contains only those set without any mid-air refueling .
Non-commercial powered aircraft
Sortable table
Year
Date
Distance
Pilot
Aircraft
Notes
2006
February 8–12, 2006
41,467.46 km
Steve Fossett
GlobalFlyer
Single pilot (Steve Fossett) flight.[ 1] [ 2]
1986
December 14–23, 1986
40,212.14 km
Richard Glenn Rutan and Jeana Yeager
Rutan Voyager
Circumnavigation . Fédération Aéronautique Internationale record holder up to 2006 (current class holder).[ 3]
1962
January 10–11, 1962
20,168.78 km (12532.3 mi)
Major Clyde P. Evely and crew
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
From Kadena AB, Okinawa, to Torrejon AB, Spain, via Tokyo, Seattle, Fort Worth, Washington and the Azores[ 4]
1946
September 29 – October 2, 1946
18,083.6 km
CDR Tom Davies pilot, Cdr. Eugene Rankin (co-pilot) and two crew
P2V-1 Neptune
From Perth, Australia to Columbus, Ohio, US
1944
July 2, 1944
16,435 km
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (Omata, Tanaka, Shimazaki, Sakamoto, Motimatsu, Habiro)
Tachikawa Ki-77
From Xinjing to Baicheng , China (closed circuit)
1939
August 1, 1939
12,936 km (8,038 mi)
Regia Aeronautica : Angelo Tondi, Riccardo Dogasso, Ferruccio Vignoni, Aldo Staiano
Savoia-Marchetti SM.82
Closed-circuit world record
1945
November 20, 1945
12,739.6 km
U.S. Army Air Forces ; C. S. Irvine + crew of 9
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
From Guam to Washington
1938
November 5–7, 1938
11,520.4 km (7,162 miles)
Royal Air Force Long Range Development Unit; R. Kellett , H.A.V. Hogan and A. N. Combe (first pilots) + crew of two (also qualified pilots) in each aircraft
Vickers Wellesley
From Ismailia, Egypt, to Darwin, Northern Territory , in Australia; three aircraft flew in formation, Hogan landed to refuel at Koepang (500 miles short of Darwin, Australia), the other two landed at Darwin, Northern Territory .[ 5]
1938
May 13–15, 1938
11,651.011 km
Yuzoh Fujita + crew (Japan)
Koken-ki
Three-corner course over Japan. Closed-circuit record.[ 6]
1937
July 12–14, 1937
10,148.5 km
Mikhail Gromov + crew (Soviet Union)
Tupolev ANT-25
From Moscow to San Jacinto [ru ] , California, US
1933
August 5–7, 1933
9,104.7 km
Maurice Rossi and Paul Codos (France)
Blériot 110 F-ALCC
From Floyd Bennett Field , New York to Rayak, Syria
1933
February 8, 1933
8,544 km
Royal Air Force Long Range Development Unit; O. R. Gayford and Gilbert Nicholetts
Fairey Long-range Monoplane K1991
From Cranwell, UK, to Walvis Bay , South Africa
1931
August 18–29
8,940 km
Marga von Etzdorf
Junkers A 50ce Junior
From Berlin Tempelhof Airport to Haneda Airport
1931
October 5
8,851 km
Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon
Bellanca CH-400 or Bellanca J-300 ''Miss Veedol'' From
Wenatchee Washington to Misawa Japan
1931
July 28–31
8,066 km
Russell Boardman and John Polando
Bellanca J-300 Special Cape Cod NR761W
From Floyd Bennett Field to Istanbul [ 7]
1929
December 15–19, 1929
8,029.44 km
Dieudonné Costes and P. Codas
Breguet 19 Super Bidon Point d'Interrogation
Closed-circuit record.[ 8] [ 9]
1929
September 27–29, 1929
7,905.140 km
Dieudonne Costes and Maurice Bellonte
Breguet 19 Super Bidon Point d'Interrogation
Paris to Qiqihar , China.[ 10]
1928
July 3–5, 1928
7,188.26 km
Arturo Ferrarin and Carlo del Prete
Savoia Marchetti S.64
From Montecelio (Italy) to Touros (Brasil). Distance in a straight line. FAI Database ID#9108
1927
June 28–29
3,862.43 km
Albert Francis Hegenberger and Lester Maitland
Fokker F.VII
From California to Hawaii, the longest open sea flight up to that date, in the "Bird of Paradise". They received the Mackey Trophy and the Distinguished Flying Cross from President Calvin Coolidge for this achievement.[ 11]
1927
May 20–21, 1927
5,809 km
Charles Lindbergh
Ryan NYP, Spirit of St. Louis
Single pilot flight, New York to Paris[ 12] [ 13]
1926
October 28–29, 1926
5,396 km
Dieudonné Costes and Jean Rignot
Breguet 19 GR
From Paris–Le Bourget Airport to Djask, Iran[ 14] [ 15]
1926
August 31 – September 1, 1926
5,174 km
Léon Challe and René Weiser
Breguet 19 GR
From Paris–Le Bourget Airport to Bandar Abbas [ 14] [ 16]
1926
July 14–15, 1926
4715.90 km
André Girier and François Dordilly
Breguet 19 GR
From Paris to Omsk [ 14] [ 17]
1926
June 26–27, 1926
4313 km
Ludovic Arrachart and Paul Arrachart
Potez 28
From Paris to Basrah , Iraq[ 18] [ 19]
1925
August 30–31, 1925
3,206 km
CDR John Rodgers (USN )
PN-9 Flying Boat
From San Francisco and Honolulu by Seaplane over open water without visual navigational aides.[ 20] [ 21]
1925
August 7–9, 1925
4,400 km
Maurice Drouhin and Jules Landry
Farman F.62 Goliath
Closed circuit Chartres –Étampes–Toussus –Chartres.[ 22] [ 23]
1925
February 3–4, 1925
3,166.30 km
Ludovic Arrachart and Henry Lemaitre
Breguet 19
Distance in a straight line record. Étampes–Villa Cisneros .[ 24] [ 25]
1923
April 16–17, 1923
4,050 km
Oakley G. Kelly and John A. Macready
Fokker T.2
Closed circuit around Dayton, Ohio[ 26] [ 27]
1920
June 3–4, 1920
1,915.2 km
L Boussoutrot and J Bernard
Farman Goliath
Closed-circuit record[ 28]
1919
June 14–15, 1919
3,040 km
John Alcock and Arthur Brown
Vickers Vimy
Flew non-stop from St. John's , Newfoundland, to Clifden , Connemara, in 15 hours 57 minutes
1914
February 7, 1914
1,699 km
Karl Ingold
Mercedes Aviatik-Pfeil [ 29]
He flew continuously from 7:35 am until 11:55 pm covering 1,056 miles in 16 hours and 20 minutes.[ 30]
1903
December 17, 1903
279 m
Wilbur Wright
Wright Flyer
59 seconds
1903
December 17, 1903
39 m
Orville Wright
Wright Flyer
12 seconds
1852
September 24, 1852
27.36 km (17 miles)
Henri Giffard
The Giffard airship
Over an hour[ 31]
Commercial aircraft
This article needs to be updated . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2018 )
Year
Date
Distance
Pilot
Aircraft
Reference
2005
November 9, 2005
21,601 km [ 32]
Suzanna Darcy-Henneman , Richard Austin, John Cashman, Mathew Mathew, Frank P. Santoni Jr, Philip Schultz, Rodney Skaar[ 32]
Boeing 777-200LR
Hong Kong International Airport to London Heathrow Airport the long way round taking 22 hours, 22 minutes[ 33] [ 34]
1997
April 2, 1997
20,045 km [ 35]
Frank P. Santoni Jr , Richard Austin, John Cashman, Charles Hovlano, Joseph McDonald, James McRoberts, Rodney Skaar[ 35]
Boeing 777-200ER
Malaysia Airlines delivery flight from Boeing Field , Seattle to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 21 hours and 23 minutes.[ 36] [ 37]
1993
June 16 to 18, 1993
19,246 km[ 38] [ 39]
Pierre Baud, Gérard Guyot, Nicholas "Nick" Warner, Bernard Ziegler[ 39]
Airbus A340-200
Set two new records as it flew an around the world route. First flying 19,089 kilometres (11,861 mi; 10,307 nmi) from Paris-Le Bourget Airport to Auckland , New Zealand in 21 hours and 32 minutes.[ 40] After a 5 hour layover, the flight continued east-bound on a slightly longer route back to Paris-Le Bourget flying 19,246 kilometres (11,959 mi; 10,392 nmi), covering a great circle distance of 18,541 kilometres (11,521 mi; 10,011 nmi)[ 41] in 21 hours and 46 minutes.[ 42] [ 43] [ 44]
2011
December 6, 2011
19,142 km [ 45] [ 46]
Michael Carriker , Chad Lundy, Gregory McCann, William Roberson, Rodney Skaar, Christine Walsh[ 45]
Boeing 787-8
Boeing Field to Shahjalal International Airport , Dhaka, Bangladesh in 21 hours and 43 minutes on a trans-atlantic eastward route.[ 47]
2020
April 14 to 15, 2020
18,209 km
Boeing 777-300ER
Virgin Australia ferry flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Brisbane Airport in 19 hours and 45 minutes; returning after evacuating French citizens from New Zealand due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
2019
November 14 to 15, 2019
17,750 km
Boeing 787-9
Qantas Between London Heathrow Airport and Sydney International Airport in 19 hours and 19 minutes.[ 48]
2013
June 6, 2013
17,312 km
Airbus A330-200
Delta Air Lines ferry flight between Singapore and Atlanta in 18 hours and 34 minutes; returning from extensive cabin renovations.
1989
August 16 to 17, 1989
17,039 km [ 49]
David Massy-Greene[ 49]
Boeing 747-400
Qantas delivery flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sydney International Airport in 20 hours and 9 minutes.[ 50] [ 51]
2002
December 24, 2002
16,901 km [ 52]
Bruce Simpson, David Collier, Bruce Van Eyle, James Peach[ 52]
Airbus A330-200
Qantas between Toulouse and Melbourne in 20 hours 4 minutes.[ 53]
2004
June 28, 2004
16,467 km[ 54]
Airbus A340-500
Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Newark, New Jersey, in a scheduled time of 18 hours 20 minutes covering approximately 16,600 km. It was the longest regularly scheduled commercial flight except until termination on November 23, 2013, and relaunch on October 18, 2018 [ 55] until being surpassed in 2020.
2019
October 18 to 20, 2019
16,200 km
Boeing 787-9
Qantas between New York and Sydney in 19 hours 16 minutes.[ 56] [ 57]
2003
November 5, 2003
15,300 km
Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing Company between Sydney and Recife, Brazil in 18 hours 25 minutes. ETOPS test flight.[ 58]
2017
February 5, 2017
14,535 km
Boeing 777-200LR
Qatar Airways between Doha and Auckland in 16 hours 10 minutes, formerly the world's longest commercial flight.
2004
February 3, 2004
14,093 km
Airbus A340-500
Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Los Angeles in 14 hours 42 minutes.[ 55]
1988
September 17, 1988
14,042 km
Boeing 767-200ER
Air Mauritius between Halifax and Mauritius in 16 hours and 27 minutes.
Shortest distance
The Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route and its return flight make up the shortest flight distance for any scheduled air carrier service. The route is 2.8 km (1.7 miles), and travel time, including taxi, is usually less than two minutes. The route is served by Loganair airlines ' Britten-Norman Islander aircraft and links the island of Westray and the town of Kirkwall, on the Orkney Islands in Scotland. This record was established when service began in 1967, and it remains in effect as of December 2022.[ 59] [ 60]
Other types of aircraft
See also
Notes and references
^ "FAI Record ID #13081 - Distance, C-Absolute (Absolute Record of classes C, H and M) Archived 2014-10-17 at the Wayback Machine " Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: October 10, 2014.
^ Fossett link Archived October 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ "FAI Record ID #8391 - Distance over a closed course. Class C-1e Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine " Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: October 10, 2014.
^ Taylor 1966, p. 2.
^ "Triple triumph " Flight 1938
^ Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 91.
^ " 'Cape Cod's' Success Climaxes 5 Years [of] Bellanca Records" . The Sunday Morning Star, Wilmington, DE . August 2, 1931. Retrieved September 4, 2013 .
^ "FAI Record ID #9288" . Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2013 . .
^ "New Closed Circuit Record" . Flight . Vol. XXI, no. 1095. December 20, 1929. p. 1330.
^ "World's Records In Aviation ". Flight , March 20, 1931, p. 247.
^ Bird of Paradise Archived December 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ "FAI Record ID #14842" . Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2013 . .
^ "New York–Paris: Lindbergh's Non-Stop Fight Across the Atlantic" . Flight . Vol. XIX, no. 961. May 26, 1927. pp. 331– 333.
^ a b c Green, Swanborough and Leyvastre 1978, p. 171.
^ "FAI Record ID #9306" . Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2013 . .
^ "FAI Record ID #9307" . Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2013 . .
^ "FAI Record ID #9299" . Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2013 . .
^ "FAI Record ID #9304" . Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2014 .
^ Parmentier, Bruno. "Potez 28/2" . aviafrance . Retrieved October 19, 2014 .
^ "Hawaii Aviation" . hawaii.gov .
^ "Hawaii Aviation" . hawaii.gov .
^ "The New World's Duration Record" . Flight . Vol. XVII, no. 868. August 13, 1925. p. 525.
^ "The World's Duration Record: Some More Details Concerning the Wonderful Farman Performance" . Flight . Vol. XVII, no. 870. August 27, 1925. p. 550.
^ Green, Swanborough and Leyvastre 1978, p. 170.
^ "FAI Record ID #9305" . Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2013 . .
^ "Thirty-six Hours in the Air" . Flight . Vol. XV, no. 748. April 26, 1923. p. 232.
^ "Records Homologated" . Flight . Vol. XV, no. 757. June 28, 1923. p. 356.
^ "The Royal Aero Club of the U.K.: Official Notices to Members: Official World's Records Passed by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, January 6 to October 20, 1920" . Flight . Vol. XII, no. 625. December 16, 1920. p. 1274.
^ "Aviatik B / P.14" . flyingmachines.ru .
^ "German Airmen Sets Record" . Popular Mechanics . 1914.
^ "The Giffard Airship, 1852. - - Science Museum" . Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015 .
^ a b "Suzanna Darcy-hennemann (USA) (12181) | World Air Sports Federation" . www.fai.org . October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Flight-distance record awaits as big 777 heads to London" . seattlepi.com . November 8, 2005. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
^ Chuck Cadena. "Boeing to Set New World Record for Distance with 777-200LR Worldliner Flight" . boeing.mediaroom.com .
^ a b "Frank P. Santoni, Jr (USA) (4315) | World Air Sports Federation" . www.fai.org . October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Boeing 777 Distance and Speed World Records Confirmed" . MediaRoom . Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Boeing 777 Breaks Speed and Distance World Records" . MediaRoom . Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ Asselin, Mario (1997). An Introduction to Aircraft Performance . AIAA. ISBN 978-1-60086-024-9 .
^ a b "Pierre Baud (FRA) (28) | World Air Sports Federation" . www.fai.org . October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "New Airliner Record for longest nonstop flight" . Air Line Pilot . Vol. 62. Air Line Pilot's Association International. 1993. p. 10.
^ Asselin, Mario (1997). An Introduction to Aircraft Performance . American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. p. 96. ISBN 9781600860249 .
^ "Record-breakers (1993-2000) - Airbus Commercial Aircraft" . Airbus. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017 .
^ Guy Norris; Mark Wagner (2001). Airbus A340 and A330 . pp. 73–74 . ISBN 0-7603-0889-6 .
^ "World Ranger | Airbus Press Release" . Airbus.com . Archived from the original on February 23, 2017.
^ a b "Michael H. Carriker (USA) (16210) | World Air Sports Federation" . www.fai.org . October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Boeing picks up awards for record-breaking 787 flight | News | Flight Global" . May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Boeing 787 Dreamliner Sets Speed, Distance Records" . MediaRoom . Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Qantas Flew Non-stop from London to Sydney in Less Than 20 Hours" . www.qantas.com . Retrieved July 23, 2020 .
^ a b "David Massy-Greene (AUS) (2201) | World Air Sports Federation" . www.fai.org . October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "From the archives: Longreach: Qantas Boeing 747 VH-OJA's record flight" . Australian Aviation . August 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "First Non-stop England-Australia Flight 1989" . www.airwaysmuseum.com . Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ a b "Bruce Simpson (AUS) (7591) | World Air Sports Federation" . www.fai.org . October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ "Qantas flies Airbus A330 nonstop from Europe to Australia" . Airbus .
^ "Singapore Airlines (SQ) #22 ✈ FlightAware" . April 12, 2016. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2023 .
^ a b "Singapore Airlines A340-500 Beats its own Non-Stop Flight Distance Record" . June 28, 2004. Retrieved September 4, 2013 .
^ Hatch, Patrick (October 20, 2019). "On board the 19 hour Qantas flight from New York to Sydney" . The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
^ Josephs, Leslie (October 18, 2019). "Qantas tests passenger limits — and pilot brain patterns — on world's longest nonstop flight" . CNBC . Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
^ "Boeing set for final 777-300ER phase" (PDF) . November 5, 2003. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .
^ "Final trip for Orkney shortest flight pilot" . BBC News . May 26, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2016 .
^ Clarke, Chris (April 17, 2015). "The World's Shortest Commercial Flight Takes Less Than A Minute" . Flight Club . Retrieved January 21, 2016 .
^ FAI link to gliding records Archived December 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Schallmauer durchbrochen" (PDF) . Skyrevue. January 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 3, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2013 .
^ "Kanellos Kanellopoulos (GRE) (385) | World Air Sports Federation" . Fédération Aéronautique Internationale . January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021 .
^ "Kanellos Kanellopoulos (GRE) (384) | World Air Sports Federation" . Fédération Aéronautique Internationale . January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021 .
References
Green, William, Gordon Swanborough and Pierre Layvastre. "The Saga of the Ubiquitous Breguet". Air Enthusiast , Seven, July–September 1978. pp. 161–181.
Mikesh, Robert C. and Abe, Shorzoe. Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941 . London:Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-840-2 .
Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966-67 . London:Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1966.
Extremes of motion
Speed Distance Endurance See also
General Military Accidents / incidents Records