next morning, National Aeronautics Association rep-
resentative Richard Hansen placed seals and other
devices on theVoyagerto detect any refueling or
stops. Piloting theVoyagerfirst, Rutan departed at
8:01a.m.and flew west, attaining an altitude of fifty-
eight hundred feet. Burt Rutan initially followed in
another plane to monitor theVoyager, and ground
support personnel maintained radio contact.
Flying over the Pacific Ocean, Rutan and Yeager
navigated with radar and a Global Positioning Sys-
tem (GPS) to maneuver between storms and turbu-
lent areas. They passed Hawaii and reached the
South Pacific on the second day of flight. Rutan
avoided flying into Typhoon Marge but benefited
from its winds to speed toward the Philippine Is-
lands. On the third day, exhausted after flying since
the beginning of the voyage, Rutan slept while Yeager
piloted theVoyagerthrough Southeast Asia.
On the fourth day, the pilots stayed near the Inter-
tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), risking storms
to benefit from winds to pushVoyageralong its flight
path over the Indian Ocean. As it neared Africa the
next day, theVoyagerset the record for the greatest
flight distance reached without refueling. The pilots
crossed mountainous hazards by using the front
engine to lift over tall peaks.
During day six, theVoyagerpilots turned off the
front engine after clearing African mountains and
reaching coastal landmarks. On the following day,
they completed crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Bra-
zil. Yeager resumed piloting while Rutan slept, guid-
ingVoyagertoward the Pacific Ocean. By day eight,
the pilots headed north. They experienced fuel
pump problems, and the rear engine stopped. As
theVoyagerbegan to descend over the ocean, the pi-
lots attempted to turn the front engine on. It started
when the aircraft was only thirty-five hundred feet
above ground. TheVoyager’s movement caused fuelThe Eighties in America Voyagerglobal flight 1027
TheVoyageraircraft returns from its record-breaking nonstop trip around the world in 1986.(NASA)