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The GlobalFlyer attempting the first solo, nonstop flight around the world without refueling

Global Flyer


It's a little less glam than winning the $10 million X Prize for making the first private flight into space, but Scaled Composites hasn't turned its attention completely away from more atmospheric endeavours and is currently test flying a new plane called the GlobalFlyer that they're hoping will be the first to make a solo, nonstop flight around the world without having to refuel. The plane, as you'd expect, is basically a cramped flying fuel tank. The entire journey should take about 70 hours or so, but they haven't quite figured out what to do about the pilot not being able to sleep that entire time since no one completely trusts the onboard auto-pilot system.