Has any aircraft (I assume aircraft since for an easterly trip that would seem to be the only thing that could manage it) ever traveled around the world and arrived back where it started, without ever seeing the sun set?
The qualifiers I’d add :
The route must be a great circle or cross antipodal points.
The journey must take place within the atmosphere (let’s say, where planes can operate, although the craft doesn’t need to be an airplane) to rule out an orbit where the sun is always visible.
Stops are allowed.
I don’t think it has been done. This site seems to show the fastest circumnavigation being a 1995 flight by the Concord of 31 hours and 27 minutes. This site supports that claim that it was Concord, but references a 1992 flight of 32 hours 49 minutes, describing it as the fastest non-orbital cirumnavigation. Both flights flew west-to-east and did it in roughly 32 hours. Because they were flying against the rotation of the earth - I don’t think they could have done it in all daylight. Had they been able to fly the other way around the earth, then I think it could have been done - although they probably couldn’t have maintained the same speed. Had they been much slower (~36 hours), then they couldn’t have done it in all daylight even going the other direction.
It’s not clear where they crossed the equator on that Concorde trip, though since it’s counted as a ‘round-the-world’ record I’m guessing they made a swing down from Bangkok (Santo Domingo to Hawaii comes out somewhere in the Indian Ocean, so it seems feasible). But it could simply be something like ‘round-the-world’ the way a round-the-world airplane ticket is - crossing all time zones.
(I also realized after posting that you’d want to go west, not east if you’re trying to make it around with the sun.)
GusNSpot, it wouldn’t surprise me if an SR-71 had done this. As you said, it’s technically not a difficult matter, but I don’t see why they’d ever schedule such a mission.
I recall the a Blackbird going around the world in the 24 hour time frame, refueling in the air, so there were no stops. I’m pretty sure it happend in the 80’s. There are several definitions for circumnavigation that can include crossing the equator, reaching antipodal points, and crossing ones path. Magellan is not given credit for a circumnavigation because he didn’t close the loop, but his lifetime journey may have covered a path that emcompassed a great circle (hard to get a fix on his most eastward extent preceding his westward journey). Crossing all the medians seems pointless, a polar circumnavigation is just as impressive as an equatorial one. As far as covering anti-podal points, I wonder if anyone has exactly done that. Even orbiting space craft don’t follow precise great circle paths, although given enough orbits, its likely to be done.
Edit: And I don’t recall the SR71 did it in total daylight.
It’s not hard at all, and I would maintain that anything that doesn’t pass through at least one pair of antipodal points shouldn’t be considered a circumnavigation. The key is that you don’t care which pair of antipodal points you hit.
Take any journey that you could reasonably call a non-cheating circumnavigation (so no running laps at Amundsen-Scott station, or the like), and plot it on the globe. Now plot the path taken by the traveler’s antipodal point: It’ll be in some sense the same shape, but flipped around. If the two loops cross, then the points where they cross are antipodal to each other.
Yes, thank you, I see you are right. Even in highly distorted paths, you would have to cross antipodal points, or you haven’t actually encompassed a great circle. Since you aren’t likely to follow an exact great circle, the antipodal points are a good definition. It probably increases the feat of Magellan since he probably crossed those points, and only failed to close up the loop (or he may have been a little short depending on the extent of his travel in the Portuguese Navy).
LOL, I meant that the feat had been done more than once.
I understand that if where they are going is far nuff then continuing is really faster than bucking head winds even if you are not really half way round the world.
I have heard that the “B” bombers do this on a regular basis but I don’t think they can do the required speed to be under 24 hours.
I was wondering if someone would bring this up - I intentionally did not exclude it. However, in order to make a proper circumnavigation (see antipodal point requirement) you’d have to make a trip to the other pole on the equinox. This would require a rate of travel nearly equal to that required to make a more direct western trip, as you’d have to cross about half the planet in 12 hours. Technically you could curve for more time, but your speed still needs to be pretty high during that time. The total distance can never be shorter than ~40000 km.
Given that this eliminates the lengthy Pacific crossing and breaks up the travel, it might be slightly easier to do this one, but you wouldn’t be setting any records in it.
