Spirit of Texas

by John Schneider

Title

Spirit of Texas

Artist

John Schneider

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

File# 0905 The 'spirit of Texas' a Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II, is the first helicopter to complete a round-the-world flight.
Ross Perot, Jr. and Jay Coburn used the 'Spirit of Texas' to complete the first round-the-world trip in a standard business class Bell 206L-1. Modifications to the helicopter... an extra 151 gallon fuel tank, along with Loral radar, a modified heater/defroster, pop out floats, special safety, communication, and navigation equipment.
the helicopter departed Dallas, Texas, on September 1, 1982, and returned to the same point 29 days, 3 hours, and 8 minutes later. The flight path consisted of 26,000 miles crossing 26 different countries, 56,000 pounds of fuel were burned, with 56 stops for refueling.
Some interesting highlights... Sept-lles, Canada - Poor weather required flying along the St. Lawrence river and under bridges... Quaqtag, Canada - Emergency landing for fuel... Kulusuk, Greenland - Were refused a clearance to land, controllers leaving to go hunting, and diverted to Angmagssalik, Greenland.... Sumburgh, Shetland Islands - Arm Wrestling Championships at rest stop... Luxor, Egypt - Unscheduled fuel stop with Army surcharges..... Karachi, Pakistan - Abandoned maps and claimed they were lost to explain route deviation..... Rangoon, Burma - Thunderstorms.... Mergui, Burma - Interrogations on landing..... Singapore - Had to launch before typhoon Ken.... Kushiro, Japan - Departed for a 750-mile trip in Typhoon Ken..... Container Ship McKinley (Russia refused landing privileges) - Slight damage to Helicopter, with a1400-mile non-stop flight to Alaska.
On November 15, 1982, the 'Spirit of Texas' was flown to Andrews AFB, and donated to the National Air and Space Museum.

Uploaded

April 17th, 2018

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