How Two Pilots Flew Non-Stop Around the World

08 November 2011

The Voyager airplane now hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: EXPLORATIONS -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

It was called the last great goal in flying. It would be a flight around the world without stopping or adding more fuel. Today, Frank Oliver and Doug Johnson tell about a special plane called Voyager and the effort to set a difficult world record.

FRANK OLIVER: Voyager began as a quick drawing on a small piece of paper. Six years later, the drawing was a plane that made history.

Many people gave their time, energy and money to help make the flight happen. But three people had lead parts in the event. Dick Rutan. Burt Rutan. And Jeana Yeager.

Dick Rutan was an experienced flier. He had been a pilot in the United States military during the war in Vietnam. After the war, he worked as a test pilot. He flew planes designed by his younger brother Burt.

Burt Rutan was well-known as a designer of experimental planes. And Jeana Yeager held nine world flight records as a pilot.

DOUG JOHNSON: One day in early nineteen eighty-one, Dick, Burt and Jeana were eating in a restaurant in Mojave, California. Burt turned to his brother and asked a wild question: "How would you like to be the first person to fly around the world without stopping to