Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft set an endurance record for a non-stop commercial flight

[Larry Dighera]

A BOEING CO. 777 wide-body aircraft set an endurance record for a
non-stop commercial flight, travelling more than 22 hours flying
eastward from Hong Kong to London. The aircraft, with 35
passengers and crew aboard, flew more than half way around the
world, covering 11,664 nautical miles, or 21,601 kilometres,
Boeing said. The 777-200LR (longer range) Worldliner plane
touched down at London's Heathrow airport in Boeing's blue and
white livery, with the word "experimental" over the forward
door. Officials from Guinness World Records were on hand at
London's Heathrow Airport to verify the record as the world's
longest commercial flight. The plane flew from Hong Kong to
London, going the long way round over North America in a flight
which lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes. The first Boeing 777-200LR
will be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines in early
2006. The plane can carry about 300 passengers.
(Reuters 10:34 AM ET 11/10/2005)

More:
http://q1.schwab.com/s/r?l=248&a=1152142&m=100624373d9a305022482a&s=rb051110

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[[email protected]]

Larry,

They set a distance record, not endurance. QANTAS still holds the
endurance record for a nonstop airline flight. During WWII QANTAS ran
twice a week scheduled service from Australia to Sri Lanka in a PBY.
The flight lasted as long as 36 hours nonstop, unrefueled. Pax got a
"double sunrise" certificate upon arrival at the destination.

All the best,
Rick

[Larry Dighera]

On 11 Nov 2005 04:37:02 -0800, wrote in
om>::


>They set a distance record, not endurance. QANTAS still holds the
>endurance record for a nonstop airline flight. During WWII QANTAS ran
>twice a week scheduled service from Australia to Sri Lanka in a PBY.
>The flight lasted as long as 36 hours nonstop, unrefueled. Pax got a
>"double sunrise" certificate upon arrival at the destination.

That's an interesting bit of information, and remarkable too.

Apparently you are correct about it being a distance, rather than
endurance, record. It would appear that the Reuters correspondent got
it wrong:


10:34 AM ET 11/10/05

UPDATE 1-Boeing plane sets flight endurance record


(Adds background, pilot, Boeing comments)

By Jason Neely, European Aerospace & Airlines Correspondent

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A Boeing Co. 777 wide-body aircraft set
an endurance record for a non-stop commercial flight on Thursday,
travelling more than 22 hours flying eastwards from Hong Kong to
London.

The aircraft, with 35 passengers and crew aboard, flew more than
half way around the world, covering 11,664 nautical miles, or
21,601 kilometres, Boeing said.

The 777-200LR (longer range) Worldliner plane touched down at
London's Heathrow airport in Boeing's blue and white livery, with
the word "experimental" over the forward door.

Officials from Guinness World Records were on hand at London's
Heathrow Airport to verify the record as the world's longest
commercial flight.

The plane flew from Hong Kong to London, going the long way round
over North America in a flight which lasted 22 hours and 42
minutes.

Captain Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, one of the pilots, said the plane
had two hours of fuel left when it landed.

Asked why they did not keep going, she said: "You have to declare
your route before you set off."

She told reporters air traffic controllers, unaware the flight was
trying to break a record, had offered the pilots vectors, or short
cuts, to speed up the journey.

"We kept being offered vectors and, strange for a pilot, we kept
saying no we want to stay on our route," she said.

The first Boeing 777-200LR will be delivered to Pakistan
International Airlines in early 2006. The plane can carry about
300 passengers.

Air Canada on Wednesday concluded an agreement to buy 32 of
wide-body jets including 18 777s from Boeing in a transaction
worth about $6 billion.

"We see an addressable market for a plane of this size and
capability of 340 planes," said Randy Tinseth, director of product
marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

He said the plane's long-range capabilities, by using two rather
than four fuel-efficient engines, would save airlines about 2
million gallons of fuel per year.

REUTERS


However CBS News got it right:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/10/tech/main1033188.shtml

As did Boeing: http://www.777.newairplane.com/
(The extensive Quest For Distance timeline on the Boeing site fails to
mention the Qantas PBY flights.)


It is interesting that Air Canada has chosen the Boeing over the
Airbus. That fact seems to confirm Boeing's superiority in distance
capability:

The record-breaking attempt is part of Chicago-based Boeing's
fierce competition with its European rival Airbus SAS. The Boeing
777-200LR Worldliner was designed to compete directly with the
popular Airbus 340-500, which has a flight range of 10,380 miles.


Of course, this all begs the question of what role the jet stream
played in these range figures.

[Jim Burns]

Amazing and remarkable. Thanks for making me dig into this Rick. More
here: http://www.southerncrossseaplanes.com.au/history.html

Jim

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Larry,
>
> They set a distance record, not endurance. QANTAS still holds the
> endurance record for a nonstop airline flight. During WWII QANTAS ran
> twice a week scheduled service from Australia to Sri Lanka in a PBY.
> The flight lasted as long as 36 hours nonstop, unrefueled. Pax got a
> "double sunrise" certificate upon arrival at the destination.
>
> All the best,
> Rick
>

[Larry Dighera]

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>> Larry,
>>
>> They set a distance record, not endurance. QANTAS still holds the
>> endurance record for a nonstop airline flight. During WWII QANTAS ran
>> twice a week scheduled service from Australia to Sri Lanka in a PBY.
>> The flight lasted as long as 36 hours nonstop, unrefueled. Pax got a
>> "double sunrise" certificate upon arrival at the destination.
>>
>> All the best,
>> Rick
>>
>
On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 08:07:00 -0600, "Jim Burns"
> wrote in
>::

>Amazing and remarkable. Thanks for making me dig into this Rick. More
>here: http://www.southerncrossseaplanes.com.au/history.html
>
>Jim
>

Thanks for the link. Here's the quote:

Having proved itself in peacetime operations, the Catalina
heralded a remarkable chapter in Australian aviation history.
Again at the urging of the British government (without whom the
pre-war flying boat or seaplane or sea plane service would never
have happened), the RAF supplied Qantas with five Catalina
aircraft, if Qantas agreed to open a flying route from Perth to
Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It was to be the world’s longest regular
non-stop service – a total distance of 5632km (3520 miles). To
enable a flight over such a long distance, the aircraft were
stripped of all unnecessary weight, including almost all creature
comforts, save for seats, a small basket of food and a thermos.
Airmail was carried on microfilm, thereby reducing a load of
several tons to a parcel of around 60 pounds, and only three
passengers were allowed. To further complicate matters, these
missions were flown in complete radio silence across
enemy-patrolled waters. This also meant that pilots had to
navigate by dead reckoning, using only a map, a compass and the
stars to find their way.

On 10th July 1943, the first service departed from Koggala Lake in
the south of Ceylon bound for Perth, where it would land on the
Swan River. This was the first of 271 flights that took place
between 1943 and 1945, all without incident. Depending on the
prevailing conditions, a typical flight lasted anywhere from 27 to
32 hours. Because of the length of the flights, passengers
witnessed the sunrise twice while airborne. At the end of each
journey, passengers were awarded a certificate admitting them to
the ‘Secret Order of the Double Sunrise’.

[.Blueskies.]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message ...
>
> Thanks for the link. Here's the quote:
>
> Having proved itself in peacetime operations, the Catalina
> heralded a remarkable chapter in Australian aviation history.
> Again at the urging of the British government (without whom the
> pre-war flying boat or seaplane or sea plane service would never
> have happened), the RAF supplied Qantas with five Catalina
> aircraft, if Qantas agreed to open a flying route from Perth to
> Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It was to be the world's longest regular
> non-stop service - a total distance of 5632km (3520 miles). To
> enable a flight over such a long distance, the aircraft were
> stripped of all unnecessary weight, including almost all creature
> comforts, save for seats, a small basket of food and a thermos.
> Airmail was carried on microfilm, thereby reducing a load of
> several tons to a parcel of around 60 pounds, and only three
> passengers were allowed. To further complicate matters, these
> missions were flown in complete radio silence across
> enemy-patrolled waters. This also meant that pilots had to
> navigate by dead reckoning, using only a map, a compass and the
> stars to find their way.
>
> On 10th July 1943, the first service departed from Koggala Lake in
> the south of Ceylon bound for Perth, where it would land on the
> Swan River. This was the first of 271 flights that took place
> between 1943 and 1945, all without incident. Depending on the
> prevailing conditions, a typical flight lasted anywhere from 27 to
> 32 hours. Because of the length of the flights, passengers
> witnessed the sunrise twice while airborne. At the end of each
> journey, passengers were awarded a certificate admitting them to
> the 'Secret Order of the Double Sunrise'.
>
>

I wouldn't exactly call that a commercial enterprise.

[.Blueskies.]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message ...
>
> A BOEING CO. 777 wide-body aircraft set an endurance record for a
> non-stop commercial flight, travelling more than 22 hours flying
> eastward from Hong Kong to London. The aircraft, with 35
> passengers and crew aboard, flew more than half way around the
> world, covering 11,664 nautical miles, or 21,601 kilometres,
> Boeing said. The 777-200LR (longer range) Worldliner plane
> touched down at London's Heathrow airport in Boeing's blue and
> white livery, with the word "experimental" over the forward
> door. Officials from Guinness World Records were on hand at
> London's Heathrow Airport to verify the record as the world's
> longest commercial flight. The plane flew from Hong Kong to
> London, going the long way round over North America in a flight
> which lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes. The first Boeing 777-200LR
> will be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines in early
> 2006. The plane can carry about 300 passengers.
> (Reuters 10:34 AM ET 11/10/2005)
>


The FAI is the governing body for aviation world records, regardless of what Guinness thinks. Great flight Boeing, but
where does it really stand? I see they call this a commercial flight but it is in Boeing colors and apparently not
certified yet, so it is really just a company promo flight...

[Stefan]

..Blueskies. wrote:

> so it is really just a company promo flight...

Incidentally, this flight was done at the same time as Airbus flew the
380 for a promotion tour to Asia. Pure incidence, of course.

Stefan

[[email protected]]

22:42? Yikes, I hope the head was operating...