Existing comment:
World Endurance Flight:
Hanging in front of you is the Cessna 172 piloted by Robert Timm and John Cook as they set the World Endurance Flying record on February 7, 1959. They took off from McCarran Airport on December 4, 1958, determined to fly longer without touching the ground than anyone ever had. Their flight, sponsored by the Hacienda Hotel, set a non-stop flying record of 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and 5 seconds which remains unbroken to this day.
When they finally landed, Timm and Cook had decisively broken the existing 50 day record. They had survived numerous mechanical breakdowns in flight, flown the equivalent of six times around the world, refueled twice a day from a speeding truck below them, endured nights without lights and days without much sleep.
After having set the record, they returned to their careers, Timm in the casino industry and Cook in commercial aviation. Neither tried to top their record. As John Cook later wrote, "Next time I feel in the mood to fly endurance I'm going to lock myself in our garbage can... with the vacuum cleaner running and have Bill serve me T-bone steaks chopped up in a thermos bottle -- that is until my psychiatrist opens up for business in the morning..." |