Feb 9 1984
From The Space Library
Pilot Brooke Knapp landed a Gulfstream III business jet at Washington (D.C.) National Airport today and claimed a new speed record for an around-the-world flight by any type of aircraft. Her unofficial average speed was 512 miles per hour. Knapp had originally intended to break the record for a heavy class of business jet, but she bested by nine miles per hour the old record for all types of planes, set by an Pan American World Airways 747 in 1976. Knapp was president of a California executive charter and aircraft management service.
The flight raised about $500,000 in gifts and pledges for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and carried children's letters and art from country to country. At the Novosibirsk Airport in the Soviet Union, children carrying their paintings greeted Knapp. The elaborate welcoming ceremony lost time for the crew, but they believed they could not ignore it.
After refueling stops in London, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Peking, Tokyo, Honolulu, and Los Angeles, Knapp landed the twin-engined jet at National at 9:12 a.m., 45 hours, 32 minutes, and 53 seconds after taking off. The plane flew about 20,300 miles. (W Post, Feb 10/84, C-1)
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