Record-Setting Day

A historic day today in aviation history. November 10th, 2005 - a world record flight made by the 777-200LR "Worldliner" from Hong Kong (HKG) to London Heathrow (LHR) non-stop.....the HARD WAY. Distance traveled was 11,664 nautical miles and the flight time was 22 hours, 42 minutes. Normally, this flight is made over the Asian continent, and is normally a very standard 6000nm flight, about 12-14hrs flight time. To make it a little interesting, Boeing decided to fly east from HKG instead of west. Check out the two routes, courtesy of Great Circle Mapper

The Short Way


The Long Way (well, pretty close except for the LAX-JFK leg)


Check out the Seattle Post Intelligencer article. I especially like the comparison to the Wright Bros. flight in 1905 that traveled 24 miles in 38 minutes, 20 seconds. 100 years makes quite a difference, huh?