US pilot Robert Gannon has wrapped up an epic twice-round-the-world journey in a 1968 model Cessna 182 that started a decade ago.
In an adventure that’s sure to have most, if not all, pilots in awe, Gannon, 60, completed what he dubs his ‘World Flying Adventure’ when he landed C182 (named ‘Lucky Lady Too’) at San Diego, the same point he departed from a decade earlier in September 2000, on January 8 2011.
Over that 10-year period Gannon, who served as a helicopter-borne medic in Vietnam, first circumnavigated the globe in a western direction in the southern hemisphere, and then went the other way towards the east in the northern hemisphere.
Over the course of the task he landed on every continent, in 1200 locations in 155 countries, and he logged considerable flying hours in Australia alone, flying into 125 locations. Incredibly, the entire trip – all 2200 flying hours and around 300,000 nautical miles – was flown by hand as his aircraft didn’t have an autopilot.
He removed three of the four seats in his C182 in order to squeeze extra large fuel tanks into the cabin, and at one point his aircraft was 40 per cent over gross weight with fuel on take-off.
Gannon’s adventure wasn’t done as an attempt to get into the record books – it wasn’t a race or an attempt to set a speed record, which allowed him to therefore take his time.
After an 18-hour flight leg from California to Hawaii at the start of his trek, Gannon left Lucky Lady Too in Hawaii and flew back to the US mainland to have back surgery for sciatica, a condition caused by sitting in one position for too long. He returned to Hawaii three months later and flew on to Christmas Island.
This routine became the norm for Gannon for the next decade – he would fly a leg, usually one to two months in time length, then park Lucky Lady Too and return to his San Diego home commercially for a couple of months to take care of business and plan the next leg. Over the full duration of the trip he left the aircraft on 40 occasions.
Some of the more notable moments of Gannon’s adventure included flying over the North Pole and down to the Antarctica peninsula, and delivering medical supplies and toys for the newly constructed Basra Children’s Hospital in Iraq.
CAPTION:The route of Gannon's double circumnavigation. (Robert Gannon)
CAPTION: Gannon's flight route in Australia. (Robert Gannon)
To read more about Gannon’s World Flying Adventure’ click here.
To read an interview with Gannon upon his return to San Diego click here.