Today in History
1949
Lucky Lady II Begins Nonstop Global Flight
From Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, the Lucky Lady II, a B-50 Superfortress, took off on the first nonstop round-the-world flight.
Under the command of Captain James Gallagher, and featuring a crew of 14 men, the aircraft averaged 249 miles per hour on its 23,452-mile trek.
The Lucky Lady II was refueled four times in the air by B-29 tanker planes and on March 2 returned to the United States after 94 hours in the air.
In December 1986, Voyager, a lightweight propeller plane constructed mainly of plastic, landed at Edwards Air Force Base in Muroc, California, having completed the first global flight without refueling.
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