#25: Sets an Unbroken Flight Record
In 1976 Arnold Palmer set a world record, circumnavigating the globe in a business jet in 57 hours, 25 minutes, and 42 seconds.
Joining Palmer were co-pilots Jim Bir and Bill Purkey, along with journalist Bob Serling (brother to Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling). The trip on a Learjet 36 left Denver on May 17 and included stops in Boston, Paris, Tehran, Sri Lanka, Jakarta, Manila, Wake Island and Honolulu. There was a fuel stop in Wales, in Sri Lanka Palmer rode an elephant, and all along the way he handed out bicentennial flags and bronze replicas of the Declaration of Independence. “We lost some time because of head winds, but otherwise things went just about as expected,” Palmer told the press upon arriving back in Denver, more than 28 hours ahead of the old record. “All I could think about was just getting back here.”
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