Lancair pilot takes shot at 58 year old record

FormerHangie said:
While I can see doing a round the world flight (especially @Katamarino style) as being an enjoyable adventure for a retiree, as someone who has passed age 60, the idea of folding one's self into a Lancair and doing a 30 hour leg sounds way more like punishment than enjoyment.
Click to expand...

The records do not necessarily require being strapped into the airplane for that many hours in a stint.

Keep in mind that a pretty normal leg for me will be this Saturday, CXO to BAF, about 1,400 nm in the MU-2. It'll be about 5 hours and change, the day will end up about 10 hours or so total. The longest I ever drove non-stop was right about at 8-9 hours non-stop. I was surprised the tank lasted that long, but I wanted to see how far I could go with it (driving from NJ to Indiana) without stopping. Obviously I started with a full tank. 16 hours of driving in a day used to be the norm for me, and I still enjoy long, long driving days... I actually sort of miss them since I don't hardly do them anymore flying.

Now, the levels Bill are flying at are incredible, even by my standards. But that doesn't mean I would try to meet or beat on that merit per se.

In case you didn't notice, I'm not right in the head, either. :)
 
ya, I don't know how to read the markers I guess and on my display there is no indication of what the dots/colors mean
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
ya, I don't know how to read the markers I guess and on my display there is no indication of what the dots/colors mean
Click to expand...

Looks like he has about 270 nm to go. The yellow pin is the destination for this flight, and the small yellow marker next to the N number is where he is.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
The records do not necessarily require being strapped into the airplane for that many hours in a stint.

Keep in mind that a pretty normal leg for me will be this Saturday, CXO to BAF, about 1,400 nm in the MU-2. It'll be about 5 hours and change, the day will end up about 10 hours or so total. The longest I ever drove non-stop was right about at 8-9 hours non-stop. I was surprised the tank lasted that long, but I wanted to see how far I could go with it (driving from NJ to Indiana) without stopping. Obviously I started with a full tank. 16 hours of driving in a day used to be the norm for me, and I still enjoy long, long driving days... I actually sort of miss them since I don't hardly do them anymore flying.

Now, the levels Bill are flying at are incredible, even by my standards. But that doesn't mean I would try to meet or beat on that merit per se.

In case you didn't notice, I'm not right in the head, either. :)
Click to expand...

What I'm getting at is what you can do when you're older is not always what was comfortable when you were younger. I've done my fair share of iron butt trips, both in a car and a motorcycle. I also flew coach from LAX to SYD and return, but at least in an airliner you can get up every four hours to go to the bathroom. I did an long motorcycle trip when I was 33, I took my Honda Hawk GT, put on a plastic windshield, soft bags and a Corbin seat, and went from Chicago to Atlanta via Alberta, 5200 miles in 12 days, on a middleweight standard. It was fun, but I would not do it again at my current age of 62.
 
Last edited:
Bill is a few hours away from Cape Town. From the FlightAware data it looks like he had to slow down a bit, maybe due to storms and/or turbulence in the area (according to windy.com). Looks like he's gotten through the worst of it and should be landing in Cape Town later tonight (US time).

upload_2019-12-12_16-5-15.png
 
So he’s got less than 60 hours left to meet his goal, and an additional 30 to still break the record.
 
If all goes well this leg, he should have about 49 hours left when he gets to San Juan. It's about 3000 nm from there to California, which would be 17 hours at 180 knots. Allowing for a rest stop in San Juan, should break the record handily.
 
Impressive, the stamina if nothing more. He should have asked the my pillow guy to be a sponsor.
 
He said at one of his talks that it is very twitchy fore & aft when fully loaded.
Also that they did not predict that having so much fuel, high in the cabin, also affects the CG ...but laterally. In roll.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
He said at one of his talks that it is very twitchy fore & aft when fully loaded.
Also that they did not predict that having so much fuel, high in the cabin, also affects the CG ...but laterally. In roll.
Click to expand...

Well, that's one way to keep yourself awake.
 
For some reason, when I try Flight Aware it stops with Bill's landing in Cape Town so I don't see his current track. Anyone know what might be wrong or suggest another tracking ap??
 
His website shows 68.5 hours left on the unofficial countdown timer; he's going to be in San Juan in approximately 20 hours, giving him plenty of time to get some well-deserved rest and fly the remaining "short hop" (by Bill's standards) to Ontario, CA.

I don't want to jinx it by saying it's a done deal - as we all saw at the very beginning, surprises can happen - but at this point it is entirely possible that he will beat the unbeatable record.

Bill, we are all cheering for you!

- Martin
 
Martin Pauly said:
His website shows 68.5 hours left on the unofficial countdown timer; he's going to be in San Juan in approximately 20 hours, giving him plenty of time to get some well-deserved rest and fly the remaining "short hop" (by Bill's standards) to Ontario, CA.

I don't want to jinx it by saying it's a done deal - as we all saw at the very beginning, surprises can happen - but at this point it is entirely possible that he will beat the unbeatable record.

Bill, we are all cheering for you!

- Martin
Click to expand...
If I am understanding correctly what I am reading, it sounds like it is possible that he will not only beat the record, but shatter it substantially?
 
Fallsrider said:
If I am understanding correctly what I am reading, it sounds like it is possible that he will not only beat the record, but shatter it substantially?
Click to expand...

Provided he doesn't have a landing mishap in San Juan,or a mechanical problem, or an illness, he should break the record by quite a few hours.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top