Emirates to initiate new "longest flight":

That was exactly what I was thinking! Not fun to be flying either one.

 

I was just thinking about the earlier days before the air force woke up. I saw several incidents when they were running tests with a B-47 in the early 50's. One B-47 came into Boeing Field with 6 feet of KC-97 boom sticking out of the receiver and fuel covering the canopy. The landing was a near crash with the -47 leaving the runway and heading for the flight line. He bounced hard and got into a jackrabbiting gallop off the runway and almost hit the blast fence. Another brief encounter was the sound of a C-97 in full boost approaching low at our house when we lived NE of Seattle (Eastgate). He was still hooked up to a B-47 that was wobbling and laying a smoke trail. I never found out what transpired later but when I saw them they were obviously in trouble.

 

Running those KC-97 engines that hard couldn't have been good for them, either!

 

I know, those R4360's were leaving a heavy exhaust trail, also.

 

The J47's weren't added to some of the KC-97's until the 60's. That flight took place in '57.


The B-52's had to lower flaps and the rear landing gear bogie to fly slow enough, even with the prop KC-97 flying 'downhill'.

 

45 hours in the BUFF is not as fun as it sounds

 

Believe the shortest flight I've been on is Honolulu to Maui, also done Seattle to Vancouver, fairly short both. Longest maybe Toronto to Cuba or Vancouver to Honolulu, maybe it was Vancouver to Orlando. All around 6 to 7 hours. Have friends who want me to go to the Miami boat show. No freakin way, its Vancouver to Dallas or Chicago then to Miami. Longest I'll do is 7hrs and it has to be a direct flight!

 

Shortest trip: St. Thomas USVI to Virgin Gorda BVI... about 25 miles. BN Islander with widows propped open took us, then flew back and got the luggage, loaded in the seats.

Longest: Denver to Nairobi, Kenya via Chicago (1.5 H layover) and Paris (2 H layover)... total about 15 hours. Coach. Ugh. (Air France planes were filthy inside and outside.)

 

I didn't even realize that about the back row...that's even worse! Thankfully the flight from South Africa back to ATL had two stops. Cape Town to Johannesburg to pick up more passengers and then a refuel in the Canary Islands so there was time to walk around on a non-moving floor, lol.

I can't think of the shortest flight I've been on. Maybe that stop in Johannesburg from Cape Town in the 747 to pick up more passengers was short. The US Airways Piedmont propellor flight from Philly to New Haven, CT felt pretty short (and incredibly loud seated next to that prop). I took another US Airways propellor flight from Spartanburg, SC to Charlotte, NC and it was really short like 50 minutes.

 

I've done Honolulu to Maui as well. Longest was Miami to Johannesburg via Rio, 8+ hrs & 12+ hrs. Happily, there was a 12 hour layover in Rio, enough time for a shower, a bite to eat, couple of caipirinhas, enjoying the gorgeous beauty of Rio (both scenery & lovely ladies on Ipanema)...T

 

Shortest one, from this joint, then across the valley, probably 5 or 6mins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DItuay4Zaws

wheezing 0-540s rather than PT6s to get the adrenaline going.

 

Rio would be a nice place to visit. But it would be a pain from Vancouver. Growing up and into early adulthood, my Dad had a Saratoga SP II and a Beech Sundowner. Furthest in the beech was Vancouver to Kelowna, maybe 40 minutes. Saratoga we went to San Jose, looking at another plane. We also frequently did Vancouver to Truckee California.That was a few hours each. But its different in a private plane. My Dad flew the Saratoga to Vero beach Florida for some flight training thing. The Beech he did Vancouver to Wichita for some Beechcraft owners thing. The Beech won some award, it was in mint condition.