8/17/1989: Qantas Operates Longest Nonstop Delivery Flight

DALLAS – Today in Aviation, A Qantas (QF) Boeing 747-400 (VH-OJA) flew non-stop from London Heathrow (LHR) to Sydney (SYD) in 1989. The record-breaking flight was part of the jets delivery flight from Boeing’s Seattle factory

Named ‘City of Canberra,’ the mammoth journey took 20 hours and nine minutes. Previously, the world’s longest non-stop flight record had been held by a Boeing 747SP, or ‘Special Performance’, which had covered 16,430 kilometers in 17 hours and 22 minutes.

The flight crew from the record-breaking flight. Photo: Qantas

Senior Flight Crew


In command of the Rolls-Royce, RB211-524G-powered Jumbo was Captain David read more ⇒

Source:: “Airways Magazine”

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