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The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

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Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#21

Post by robga »

mmastrac wrote: post #20
robga wrote: post #14

Just this year, an uncrewed Airbus Zephyr 8 High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite crashed just 4 hours shy of the time aloft for this crewed record. It’s 82 feet long but only 166 pounds, and solar refuels it’s batteries. Hardly the same class, but interesting nonetheless. https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/08/20/airbus-zephyr-crashe...

It didn't crash, it just "experienced circumstances that ended its current flight", hah. I realize we'll never hear about it, but I'd be very interested to see what caused it.

Here is the result of a previous run. Probably this one came to the same fate? Turbulence or atmospheric conditions leading to mid air disintegration. When ZULU82 was lost, it was operating at a lower than usual altitude.

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2...

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#22

Post by evandijk70 »

yunohn wrote: post #17
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #2

FYI: that's 85% of the design life of the Continental O-300 engine in that aircraft (1,800 hours time-before-overhaul).

> 1,800 hours time-before-overhaul That’s surprising! Do you mean the entire life of the engine, or just one run? If the former, doesn’t that get expensive? I imagine that’s not very sustainable.

In a car running at 100 kph, that would be 180000 km (roughly 110 miles). Most cars would need at least some parts replaced by that time as well..

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#23

Post by NovemberWhiskey »

yunohn wrote: post #17
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #2

FYI: that's 85% of the design life of the Continental O-300 engine in that aircraft (1,800 hours time-before-overhaul).

> 1,800 hours time-before-overhaul That’s surprising! Do you mean the entire life of the engine, or just one run? If the former, doesn’t that get expensive? I imagine that’s not very sustainable.

Overhauling an aircraft engine is a very serious undertaking involving removing the engine from the plane, shipping it away for complete disassembly and replacement of many parts.

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#24

Post by eddsh1994 »

graupel wrote: post #13

I spent what felt like 64 days in a Cessna 172 one afternoon. Or maybe it was a 152 :)

An afternoon will feel like 64 days in a 152! If it has seats behind you it was probably a skyhawk. If you could do tricks it was probably a 152.

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#25

Post by bitwize »

yunohn wrote: post #17
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #2

FYI: that's 85% of the design life of the Continental O-300 engine in that aircraft (1,800 hours time-before-overhaul).

> 1,800 hours time-before-overhaul That’s surprising! Do you mean the entire life of the engine, or just one run? If the former, doesn’t that get expensive? I imagine that’s not very sustainable.

Entire life of the engine. After 1800 hours total operation, the engine should be overhauled: taken apart, cleaned, each part examined and replaced if necessary. Note that per FAA regulations in the USA, only actual flight time counts toward this limit, not time spent taxiing on the ground.

It'll take a normal private pilot a few years to reach 1800h of operation, so it's more economical if you're not flying the plane continuously for weeks at a time.

But yeah, it's expensive. Owning a plane is expensive. It depends on if it's worth it to you to operate the plane. Small single-engine planes like the Cessna 172 are commonly used for recreation or training. So if you use it often, such frequent overhauls will pay for themselves in terms of safety and reliability.

Maybe when all-electric recreational aircraft become common they won't have to be maintained quite so much...

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#26

Post by netcraft »

evandijk70 wrote: post #22
yunohn wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1,800 hours time-before-overhaul That’s surprising! Do you mean the entire life of the engine, or just one run? If the former, doesn’t that get expensive? I imagine that’s not very sustainable.

In a car running at 100 kph, that would be 180000 km (roughly 110 miles). Most cars would need at least some parts replaced by that time as well..

I think you forgot the K on your 110K miles

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#27

Post by mmastrac »

robga wrote: post #21
mmastrac wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It didn't crash, it just "experienced circumstances that ended its current flight", hah. I realize we'll never hear about it, but I'd be very interested to see what caused it.

Here is the result of a previous run. Probably this one came to the same fate? Turbulence or atmospheric conditions leading to mid air disintegration. When ZULU82 was lost, it was operating at a lower than usual altitude. https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2...

That was wild:

"While climbing through 8,000 ft above mean sea level, the UAV experienced a series of uncommanded turns. The UAV self-recovered from the first two uncommanded turns however, the third upset resulted in the aircraft entering an uncontrolled spiral descent. Despite attempts to return to controlled flight, the UAV sustained an in-flight break-up."

I can only imagine the control systems that go into these gliders.

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#28

Post by bombcar »

throwaway0x7E6 wrote: post #18
bombcar wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really likely is one of those "never will be beaten" records because anyone sane would do it in a B-52 bomber and have some room to stretch out - but everyone would immediately know it wasn't quite as "real" as being stuck in a plane the size of a Volkswagen bug for 2 months.

I dread to think how much would it cost to fly that thing for 24*64 hours

> One might think the B-52H Stratofortress, sixty years old and counting, would be the most expensive bomber to fly, but the GAO states it only costs $88,354 an hour.

So we're looking at only a cool $135 million.

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#29

Post by shagie »

JCM9 wrote: post #5

The aircraft is hanging from the ceiling at the Las Vegas airport along with displays of artifacts from the flight. One of those things people just walk past and don’t pay attention to, but worth a look if you’re there!

From the ending of https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2008/march/pilo...

> Before he passed away in 1978, Timm reminisced about his flying days and told his sons that he longed to locate 72B. His father’s wish eventually prompted Timm’s second son, Steve, to launch a focused effort to find and return N9172B to Las Vegas. He found it on a farm in Carrot River, Saskatchewan, Canada. He brought it back to Las Vegas in 1988. In 1992 the McCarran Aviation Heritage Museum (now the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum) obtained 72B for a permanent exhibit. It’s been restored to its pre-flight condition.

> Today, N9172B is back in Las Vegas. The 1958 Cessna 172 that holds the world endurance flight record hangs from the ceiling of the baggage claim area at McCarran International Airport. Next time you fly in to Las Vegas, take a minute to look up at one of the most prosaic record-setting airplanes in the world. And imagine what it must have been like to spend more than two months living in a Cessna 172.

Re: The longest ever flight was 64 days in a Cessna 172 (2021)

#30

Post by yunohn »

bitwize wrote: post #25
yunohn wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1,800 hours time-before-overhaul That’s surprising! Do you mean the entire life of the engine, or just one run? If the former, doesn’t that get expensive? I imagine that’s not very sustainable.

Entire life of the engine. After 1800 hours total operation, the engine should be overhauled: taken apart, cleaned, each part examined and replaced if necessary. Note that per FAA regulations in the USA, only actual flight time counts toward this limit, not time spent taxiing on the ground. It'll take a normal private pilot a few years to reach 1800h of operation, so it's more economical if you're not flying the plan…

Interesting, thanks for the context. TIL!
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