GENERAL INFORMATION
 INTRODUCTION

The record for two man circumnavigation in an open-cockpit biplane has stood for over 76 years. To date, no pilot has completed a solo circumnavigation in an open cockpit biplane.  Stearman World Flight was founded to break the existing record and set the solo record for the first time in the history of aviation.  The SWF crew accepts the challenge of this record in the same spirit of adventure as the early aviation pioneers. Stearman World Flight has and will overcome all obstacles to achieve this historic and exciting goal. The following information outlines the project from its formation to the present.  We at Stearman World Flight invite you to ride along on what is and will be without question "The World's Greatest Aviation Adventure".

TRIP HISTORY

In 1923, the race to circle the globe by air was alive and many international teams failed one by one.  The United States Army commissioned Douglas Aircraft to design and build five aircraft for an around the world flight attempt. These aircraft were named "The World Cruisers".  Four of the five aircraft departed in April of 1924 westbound from Seattle. 175 days grueling days later two "World Cruisers" proudly touched down on U.S. soil.  This was the first and the last open-cockpit biplane circumnavigation.  The record of 175 days still stands today with the solo record still uncompleted.

    PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS

In 1990, an ex-military pilot from Dallas, Texas attempted to fly solo around the world in a homebuilt biplane. He reached Russia only to have permit and planning difficulties and returned to the United States.

In 1991, pilot Carl Hayes along with a Russian pilot set out to circumnavigate the globe. They departed with great fanfare and media coverage from San Diego, California in a modified 300 HP Stearman. Unknown complications in the Colorado Rockies resulted in a forced landing on Interstate 70 ending their attempt.

In September of 1993, Frank Quigg, a 45 year old businessman from Canada, departed Vancouver eastbound in a 275 HP Waco biplane in an attempt to fly solo around the world.  Quigg was self-financed and sought very little publicity. After successfully completing half the trip in just 15 days he reached Bombay, India. While in India he contracted hepatitis and abandoned the trip, shipping his aircraft home in a container. Quigg is currently working with the Stearman World Flight project as a logistics adviser and is proving to be a major asset. His information and SWF's relentless effort will make the Stearman World Flight project a success.

ENDURANCE

Standard fuel capacity for the Stearman is 55 gallons. The aircraft has been modified to accommo- date a 150 gallon external tank and a 140 gallon fuselage tank,  for a total of 347 gallons. This provided a maximum range of approximately1600 miles. Most legs averaged 500 miles with the longest leg flown of 954 miles from Kushiro, Japan to Petropovlovsk, Russia. 

ROUTE OF FLIGHT

Date
 Route
Distance
 Time
Notes        
June 1
 Oklahoma City to Tulsa, Ok
115
1.0
 Tachometer replacement
June 2
 Mt. Vernon, Illinois
410
4.0
 Tach drive replacement
June 3
 Wheeling, Ohio
495
4.7
June 4
  New York City
345
3.3
 Publicity Stop
June 5
 Bangor, Maine
395
2.3
 Radio Maint
June 6
 Mont Joli, Canada
215
2.3
June 7-11
 Goose Bay, Canada
575
6.1
 Oil cooler leak repair - w/x delay North Atlantic
June 12 -13
 Narsarsaraq,  Greenland
776
6.75
 First overwater leg - no problems
June 14-19
 Reykjavik, Iceland
833
7.3
 Rain enroute
June 20
 Hofin, Iceland
258
2.2
 Fuel stop
June 20-23
 Wick, Scottland
632
5.0
 Heavy fog for 3 days
June 24-25
 London, England
586
5.0
 Wx delay
June 26-27
 Paris, France
287
2.6
 Scheduled A/C inspection
June 28
 Albenga, Italy
287
2.3
June 29
 Rome, Italy
478
4.0
 Money transfer/camera  replacement
July 3-6
 Corfu, Greece
448
3.9
July 7
 Iraklion, Greece
661
5.5
July 8-9
 Alexandria, Egypt
419
3.5
July 10
 Luxor, Egypt
373
3.4
July 11-13
 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
517
4.5

July 14
 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
529
4.5
July 15-20
 Baharain
552
5.5
 starter replacement  /  airframe inspection
July 21
 Muscat, Oman
632
4.7
July 22-24
 Karachi, Pakistan
640
5.0
 Money transfer
July 25
 Ahmadabad,  India
529
5.0
July 26
 Nagpur, India
517
5.0
July 27
 Calcutta, India
718
6.5
Aug 6
 Chittagong, Bangladesh
287
2.8
Aug 7-8
 Chiang Mai, Thailand
718
6.3
Aug 9
 Da Nang, Viet Nam
720
5.9
Aug 10-12
 Macao, China
575
5.0
Aug 13
 Kaohslung, Taiwan
472
4.5
Aug14
 Naha, Okinawa
489
3.8
Aug 15
 Kagoshima, Japan
426
3.8
Aug 16-20
 Tokyo, Japan
661
6.0
Aug 21
Sept 20
 Chitose, Japan
506
5.5
 30 day delay trying to get permits for Russia
Re-position  for non-stop to Alaska
Sept 21-28
 Kushiro, Japan
126
1.0
 More delay for Russia permits
Sept 29
Oct - 28
 Petropavlovsk
954
8.5
 Unable to get Russia permits, depart for Attu Alaska
Declared emergency, diverted to Russia
Oct 29
 Shymya, Alaska
655
6.0
 High winds in Shemya, divert to Attu
Oct 29
 Attu, Alaska
40
.5
 Re-position to Attu for hanger space
Oct 31
 Adak, Alaska
391
3.5
Nov 1
 Dutch Harbor, Alaska
443
4.0
Nov 2
 King Salmon, Alaska
502
4.5
Nov 3 - 5
 Anchorage, Alaska
289
3.5
Nov 6
 Yukatat, Alaska
373
3.6
Nov 7
 Ketchikan, Alaska
414
4.0
Nov 8
 Port Hardy, ,Canada
391
4.0
Nov 9
Seattle, Washington
333
3.0
Nov 10
 Walla Walla, Washington
213
2.3
Nov 11
 Boise,  Idaho
207
1.8
Nov 12
 Salt Lake City, Utah
289
2.8
Nov 13
 Grand Junction, Colorado
218
2.2
Nov 14 -15
 Denver, Colorado
230
2.4
Nov 16
 Liberal, Kansas
288
2.3
Nov 17
 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
213
2.0
 Back Home  - 22000 Miles / 176 days


Robert Ragozzino is founder of the Stearman World Flight Project. Robert, from an aviation family, has been flying professionally for 19 years. He has Commercial, Multi-engine, Instrument and Glider ratings and has logged over 8,000 flight hours. For the past 20 years Robert has flown as a corporate pilot in various aircraft. He has devoted the last six and half  years to restoring, modifying, and promoting the SWF project.  Along with his extensive professional flying experience and having flown 60,000 miles in open-cockpit biplanes, Robert brings to the project aircraft restoration and modification skills as well as an unstoppable will to complete the first solo open cockpit circumnavigation.
 
   For More Information Contact:

   Stearman World Flight, Inc.
Robert Ragozzino
626 S. Flood St. - Norman, OK 73069
   (405) 360-0736 Phone
(405) 205-7041 Cell

 stearmanworldflight@hotmail.com





Copyright © 1997  Stearman World Flight - All Rights Reserved                 
                          Updated  May 8, 2004