On Wed, 1 Jun 2005 at 20:19:52 in message ,
James Robinson wrote:

Wiley Post was the first to fly solo around the world. He first did it
in 1931 with a navigator, then repeated it in 1933 alone. He took a
northerly route across Siberia and Alaska, however. I wouldn't really
count as a trans-pacific flight.

I am interested as to how people would define a 'round the world'
flight. To me the Wiley Post flight does not really qualify..

For example would taking off from a northern airport (Like say SVALBARD,
Norway, Longyear on Spitzbergan) around 78 degrees North, flying to the
North Pole, doing a circuit around it and then returning to the start
count?

That would be less than 2,000 miles for the round trip, but who would
believe you had flown all round the world, even though you had crossed
every meridian?
--
David CL Francis