The world’s longest flight spent more than two months in the air
Just four hours short of breaking the record for the longest continuous flight, the unmanned aircraft, operated by the US Army and built by Airbus, flew for 64 days, 18 hours, and 26 minutes before unexpectedly coming down in Arizona.
Robert Timm and John Cook broke that record in 1959, when they spent 64 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes flying over Las Vegas in a four-seater aircraft.
It’s amazing that the Zephyr, a modern light aircraft flying autonomously, not only was unable to beat that record, but even if it had, Timm and Cook would still have held the world record for crewed flight endurance.
Timm and Cook’s ability to stay in the air for so long in a time that was closer to the Wright brothers’ first flight than today is nothing short of amazing.
The fuel problem
At the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, the Hacienda hotel and casino opened its doors in 1956.
It was one of the first family-friendly resorts in Las Vegas, and in an effort to gain publicity, the hotel’s owner decided to follow the advice of one of his staff members: fly a plane with the hotel’s name on the side and attempt to break the record for flight endurance, which was set in 1949 and stood at almost 47 days in the air.
The employer, Robert Timm, a former World War II fighter pilot who is now a slot machine repairman, was paid $100,000 to organize the event, which was later connected to a fundraising effort for cancer research.
Timm spent months altering the Cessna 172 he had selected as his ride: “It was a relatively new design,” explains Janet Bednarek, an aviation historian and professor at the University of Dayton. It’s a large four-seater aircraft that has a reputation for dependability and being quite simple to fly, so you don’t have to focus on it constantly. And if you’re flying for a long time, you want a plane that would just kind of hum along.
A mattress for sleeping, a tiny steel sink for personal hygiene, the removal of the majority of the interior fixtures to reduce weight, and a crude autopilot were among the improvements.
But creating a means of refueling was crucial, according to Bednarek. Although there had been many aerial refueling tests up to this point, it was impossible to adapt a Cessna 172 such that it could be refueled in flight. So they placed a second tank on the ground that could be filled by a truck. When they needed to refuel, they would land and fly extremely slowly, barely above stall speed, until the truck arrived and pulled a hose up before using a pump to pump fuel into the aircraft. Because they occasionally had to fly at night and that needed some precise flying, it was really a stunning display of airmanship.
Fourth time’s a charm
Mechanical issues put a premature halt to Timm’s first three efforts at the record, the longest of which left him and his co-pilot in the air for roughly 17 days. However, another team, also using a Cessna 172, beat the record itself in September 1958; it was now longer than 50 days.
Timm chose John Cook, a fellow technician, as his new co-pilot for his fourth try after having trouble getting along with his first.
On December 4, 1958, they took off from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas. Similar to previous attempts, the first step was to fly low over a moving vehicle in order to paint one of the landing wheels and rule out cheating: “There wouldn’t have been any way to track their altitude and airspeed at all times,” says Bednarek, “So they painted a white stripe on at least one of the tires.” If they had ever landed, that would have been scratched, and before touching down they would check to make sure no paint had been removed.
The first part of the flight proceeded without a hitch, and the two of them spent Christmas Day in the air. Every time they refueled, they would also pick up supplies and food in the form of meals from the Hacienda’s restaurants that had been mashed up to fit into Thermos flasks so that it would be easier to send them up to the plane. This happened along a stretch of relatively straight road along the California-Arizona border.
A foldable camp toilet was used for bathroom breaks, and the used plastic bags were afterwards dumped over the desert. More space was available for shaving and bathing on the side of the co-pilot thanks to an extended platform (a quart of bath water would be sent up every other day).
The two would alternate sleeping, although a sound night’s sleep was impossible due to the constant engine noise and aerodynamic vibrations. Due to lack of sleep, Timm fell asleep at the controls on day 36, causing the plane to fly by itself for over an hour at a height of only 4,000 feet. Although just a few days later it would quit functioning entirely, the autopilot had saved their lives.
The end, at last
The electrical pump that delivered the fuel to the plane’s tanks failed on day 39, forcing them to begin finishing the process manually. The cabin heater, the fuel gauge, and the landing lights were among the technical failures on the list when they ultimately broke the record on January 23, 1959: “The important thing was that the engine continued going, which is really sort of astonishing. Flying takes a lot of time. Even if you maintain it fueled and greased, friction and heat will eventually lead to issues, according to Bednarek.
However, the two continued to fly for as long as they could to ensure that their new record would never be surpassed. They continued for an additional 15 days before, on February 7, 1959, ultimately landing at McCarran after more than two months and 150,000 miles of nonstop travel.
Bednarek continues, “They had decided that they had passed the point where nobody else was going to do this—and nobody has.
“I believe they came down because they decided it wouldn’t have helped them to crash when they reached the end of the rope. They weren’t in the best of health; even though they moved around in the airplane, they couldn’t stand up or stretch, much alone exercise or go for a stroll. We know that such a long period of inactivity may be detrimental to the body.
“Sitting for 64 days would be like that; it is bad for the human body. They needed to be removed from the airplane by hand.
Will a human crew ever surpass this record? Bednarek thinks it would only be possible if an aircraft was testing a novel sort of propulsion or energy source to demonstrate its viability.
When asked if he would ever attempt it again, co-pilot John Cook replied, “Next time I feel in the mood to fly endurance, I’m going to lock myself in a garbage can with the vacuum cleaner running, and have Bob [Timm] serve me T-bone steaks chopped up in a Thermos bottle. Until my psychiatrist starts seeing patients in the morning, that is.
A man who has been suffering from headaches for nearly six months discovers chopsticks lodged in his brain
When it was discovered that a Vietnamese man with headaches and vision problems had chopsticks lodged in his brain, the doctors were almost as surprised as the man himself.
Story of Forrest Fenn and who he hid a bronze chest treasure full of gold and other jewels
Forrest Fenn, an art dealer, hid a bronze chest full of gold and other jewels somewhere in the Rocky Mountains ten years ago. In a poem, he hinted at its location. Thousands of people tried and failed to find the treasure, which is said to be worth over a million dollars, and at least four people died in the process. In June 2020, the Fenn treasure was discovered.
The Inspiring Journey of Francis Tsai, Marvel Comics artist diagnosed with ALS
Francis Tsai, an American illustrator and conceptual artist who worked for Marvel Comics, was diagnosed with ALS in 2010. After he lost the ability to move his hands and arms, he started painting digitally on his cellphone with his right big toe. After he could not move his feet anymore, he began using eye-gaze technology to keep drawing.
Missing Masterpiece Discovered in the Background of ‘Stuart Little’
In 2009, Gergely Barki, an art historian, was watching the film Stuart Little (1999) when he spotted an original long-lost painting used as a prop. Called Sleeping Lady with Black Vase, this painting was the work of Hungarian avant-garde painter Róbert Berény. The painting had been considered lost after World War II.
A flight attendant uses a secret note to save a teen girl from sex trafficking
The flight attendant Shelia Fredrick. She spotted a distressed girl with an older man. She left a note in the restroom on which the victim wrote that she needed some help. The girl was rescued from a human trafficker after the authorities were informed.
New York installs first offshore wind turbine to power 70,000 homes
New York State has achieved a historic milestone in its clean energy transition by installing the first wind turbine at its first offshore wind farm, South Fork Win.
The WWII Parachute Wedding Dress
Major Claude Hensinger jumped out of a B-29 bomber during World War II when the engine caught fire. He was saved by his parachute. Later, he requested that his fiancée Ruth make him a gown out of the same parachute. The dress is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute.
How hero parrot saved little girl who was choking on her breakfast
In 2008 Quaker parrot Willie alerted his owner Megan Howard when the little girl she was babysitting began to choke. Howard was in the bathroom when the parrot repeatedly yelled "Mama! Baby!" flapping his wings. Megan rushed and performed the Heimlich maneuver, saving her life. Willie received the Red Cross Animal Lifesaver Award.
Who invented the three-point seat belt?
While employed by Volvo in 1959, Swidish engineer Nils Bohlin created the three-point safety belt. Volvo first had the design patented, but soon as they discovered its importance as a new safety measure, they made the patent open to everyone. Millions of lives were genuinely spared by Volvo’s gift to the world.
'Press Your Luck' Was Hacked in 1984 by an Ice Cream Man
in 1984 an contestant made it onto the game show Press Your Luck. He discovered using his stop-motion VCR that the presumed random patterns of the game board were not random and memorized the sequences. On the game he was on, he won 45 consecutive spins. winning $110,237 in cash & prizes.
How Being Bugs Bunny Helped This Voice Actor Out of Coma
Mel Blanc; the voice of Bugs Bunny, had been in a serious car accident that put him in a coma. After many unsuccessful attempts to get him to talk, a doctor asked “Bugs, can you hear me” Mel responded in the voice of bugs bunny, “Whats up, Doc? The doctors used this to lead him out of his coma.
China Weather Control on 2008 Olympics with missile
One thing is certain: when it comes to ensuring nice weather for the world's largest party, the Chinese cannot be accused of being subtle. The Chinese government authorized the use of 1,104 cloud seeding missile launches from 4:00-11:39 p.m. on Friday night to reduce the possibility of rain ahead of the 29th Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing
The accidentally discovery of Riace bronzes
Stefano Mariottini was snorkeling off the coast of Monasterace near Riace in 1972 when he noticed a human hand sticking out of the sand and called the police, thinking it was a corpse. It was actually two statues of "Warriors from Riace" - 5th century BC Greek bronze statues.
Why Is the N Lowercase in 7-Eleven?
7-ELEVEN is thought to have a lowercase "n" in its logo because the company president's wife believed that a logo with all caps would seem harsh, while a lowercase "n" would make it more graceful.
Inspiring story of Emma Schols who Saved Her Six Kids From A Burning House
Emma Schols, a Swedish mother, saved all six of her children from a devastating house fire in 2019, running from room to room through flames while bleeding and losing skin. Against all odds, she survived with severe burns covering 90% of her body.
Restaurant owner offers burglar a job rather than filing charges
On April 13, 2021, Diablo’s Southwest Grill was robbed, but instead of pressing charges, owner Carl Wallace decided to offer the burglar a job in his business and said “There are better opportunities out there than this path you’ve chosen,”.
Croatian teenager wakes up from coma speaking fluent in German In 2010
In 2010, a Croatian teenager awoke from a coma to discover she could no longer speak Croatian but was fluent in German, a language she had just recently begun studying at school in the United Kingdom. reports in the press
Paramedic Rescues Doctor Who Saved Him 30 Years Earlier
In 1981, a doctor helped save the life of a 3.2 pounds premature baby boy. Thirty years later, the boy, who had grown up to be a firefighter-paramedic, helped in saving the same doctor from a car accident.
Woman had no idea she had an identical twin until she saw a 'lookalike' on YouTube
When Anais Bordier saw a YouTube video of Samantha Futerman, who looked exactly like her, she messaged her on Facebook and discovered they were both adopted and born on the same day. They were identical twins who had been separated at birth and had found each other by chance and on social media.
Baby Lynlee 'born twice' after life-saving tumour surgery
Baby Lynlee was "born twice." First, surgeons brought her out of the womb to remove a spinal tumor. After the successful surgery, she was placed back and born again as a healthy baby girl.
Lafayette pizza delivery driver who saved 5 from burning house
Nicholas Bostic a 25-year-old pizza delivery man from Lafayette, Indiana, ran into a burning house to rescue four children, who told him there is one more inside. He ran back inside, he found the six-year-old girl, jumped out of a window, carried her to a cop who captured the moment on his bodycam.
A story of a man Survived Inside Sunken Ship For Three Days
A man survived a sunken ship for nearly three days, 279 feet underwater and in complete darkness, while listening to fish eat the bodies of his shipmates.
Water park in japan, ocean dome: Largest indoor water park in the world
The Seagaia Ocean Dome, located in Miyazaki, Japan, was the biggest indoor waterpark in the world. An "Ocean" six times the size of an Olympic pool, filled with 13,500 tons of unsalted, chlorinated water kept heated at 28 degrees Celsius and recognized as the largest simulated pool by the Guinness Book of World Records, measures 12,000 square meters of the sandy beach made from 600 tons of stone.
The Man Who Survived Falling Through a Thunderstorm, William Rankin
William Rankin was a fighter pilot who survived an ejection into a thunderstorm. He suffered frostbite, violent wind and lightning, severe decompression, and nearly drowned from breathing in rain water. He was in the cloud for over 40 minutes in total.
A man who was saved from committing suicide 16 years ago now assists people dealing with mental health issues
Kevin Berthia traveled to the Golden Gate Bridge in 2005 to commit suicide. He ended up spending 92 minutes on the edge of the bridge talking to officer Kevin Briggs about his life. In much better circumstances, they cross paths at the same bridge ten years later.
