777 from HKG to LHR in 23 hours

[B747FR8DAWG]

Boeing attempts record jet flight
Aerospace giant Boeing is attempting to break the world record for the longest non-stop passenger airline flight.
A Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner jet took off from Hong Kong at 1030 local time (1430 GMT) and is due to arrive in London on Thursday at 1330 GMT.
The 23-hour flight will cover about 12,500 miles (20,300 km), taking the plane over North America rather than the shorter route to London via Russia.
Boeing hopes to challenge arch rival Airbus with its new long-haul jet.
Fierce competition
Boeing said the current world record for the longest non-stop commercial airline flight was set in 1989 by a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet, which flew 10,500 miles from London to Sydney.

Boeing is set to make aviation history in the next few hours and we are going to set a new long-distance non-stop record for commercial planes
Lars Andersen, vice president 777 programme

The US-based firm said it hoped Wednesday's world record attempt would encourage airlines to offer non-stop flights across the world, saving fuel and time spent on stopovers.
Boeing is facing fierce competition from European manufacturer Airbus, which earlier this year launched its A380 double-decker passenger jet with the aim of capturing the long-haul market.
The Boeing 777 competes directly with the widely-used Airbus A340-500, which has a flight range of 10,380 miles.
Making history
Boeing said the planned flight from Hong Kong would carry 35 passengers, including Boeing executives and clients, journalists and crew members.
BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds is among the passengers.


"Boeing is set to make aviation history in the next few hours and we are going to set a new long-distance non-stop record for commercial planes," said Lars Andersen, Boeing's vice president in charge of the 777 programme.
Boeing said advanced technology, including the use of lighter materials, and greater fuel efficiency enabled the 777-200LR to fly further.
"The Worldliner uses less fuel to fly further, " said Mr Andersen.
The company said Guinness World Records representatives would monitor the plane's arrival at London's Heathrow airport.
The flight's captain, Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, said she hoped to "smash the current record".
The twin-engine Boeing 777-200LR, which is due to come into service next year with Pakistan International Airlines, will be able to carry 301 passengers. Qatar Airways, Air India and Taiwanese carrier EVA Air have also announced orders.

 

[wmuflyguy]

Wow, I would go bonkers sitting there for 23 hours. Imagine how great that place would smell with 400 paxs after 23 hours.

 

[Buzo]

http://www.777.newairplane.com/

Here is a link to the Boeing page that is tracking the flight.

 

[nyboilermaker]

Ugh, I can barely stand a trip across the pond let alone one half way around the world. I hope the seats are more comfortable on that thing.

 

[Immelman]

I'd take it if the company were paying and I wasn't in cattle class.

"Why yes, I'll have another champagne thank you... no no leave the bottle"... I'll have time to get a nice buzz going 5-6 times with naps in between.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

I can't feel my legs!

 

[414Flyer]

RB-36 could stay up quite a bit longer than that, in excess of 40 hours, but not anywhere near the speed of the 777.

 

[RipCurl]

40 hours?!? At what kind of speed?



EDIT - Holy jeez wikipedia says 50 hours... and capable of 60,000 feet. Can anybody confirm this?

 

[414Flyer]

My grandfather flew the RB-36 from what was then Rapid City AFB, now Ellsworth.

The RB-36 was optimized for high altitude and high endurance, with most anything not needed for recon, like guns, etc removed, those versions were called "Featherweight" models.

He mentioned missions of mid 40s in hours out of Thule Greenland, where they would just fly up and down Soviet airspace boundaries, getting any kind of intel they could. I think he said they also had 3 flight crews on there too, because of the very long hours.

Not sure if they ever crossed Soviet airspace or not, a lot of that history is still classified. It finally came out in the 90s how many aircraft we lost in the cold war, no RB-36s were on there.

Another interesting thing about the B-36, up at 50,000 ft, it could outmanuver its contemporary fighters. An F-80 or F-86 would right on the edge of a stall even in level flight there, and anything but the shallowest turn would result in a stall, but the 36 could still turn up there, due to its low wing loading (really big wings)

 

[Spooky 1]

Paris to San Franciso

Sorry guys, but TWA used to fly from Paris to San Franciso in 22.5 hours in the L1649 Constellation, circa 1956-57.