The first flight around the world took 175 days and 35 separate replacement engines

The first flight around the world was completed in 1924 by four U.S. Army Air Service Douglas World Cruiser aircraft.

It took 175 days and multiple stops along the way, including 35 separate stops to replace the engines.

What’s even more telling is that four aircraft left for this expedition, but only two ‘survived’ the journey.

The other two aircraft became unusable and couldn’t make it back to the starting point.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

The story behind the first flight around the world

Conventionally known as the first aerial circumnavigation, the mission saw four Douglas World Cruiser aircraft depart from Seattle to cover the entire circumference of planet Earth.

All four aircraft belonged to U.S. Army Air Service, essentially the U.S. Air Force predecessor.

Four aircraft left Seattle – they were known as Seattle, Boston, Chicago and New Orleans – but only the latter two managed to complete the journey.

They left on April 6, 1924 and flew over (among others) the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Syria, Romania, Turkey, Iceland and Canada.

It took them 175 days, covering 27,550 miles with countless stops for fuel and repair.

Over a century later, an equivalent modern-day aircraft could probably complete the same journey in about four days, and probably with only fuel stop.

One of several records that will likely remain unbeaten

Generally speaking, aviation-related records and feats tend to be difficult to beat, or replicate.

If you wanted to fly across the world today in 175 days, you’d probably need to find a way and a reason to waste time between one stop and the other.

The longest commercial flight today ‘only’ takes about 18 hours to fly from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, and that’s already more than halfway across the globe.

Another feat – or in this case, a record – that’ll likely never be beaten is the famous Double Sunrise record, a 32-hour direct flight that saw the sunrise twice.

We can also think of a record that’s difficult to beat, but not impossible.

That’s the record for the shortest commercial flight, which only last less than a minute.

Speaking of quirky aviation facts, just a few days ago, a Cathay Pacific flight left its origin on January 1, 2025, and it then reached its destination on December 31, 2024.