EVENTS LEADING TO VOYAGER

A brief look at the events that gave rise to Voyager’s successes:

1924--First around-the-world flight. Two Seattle-based Army Air Corps biplanes cover the 26,000 miles in 175 days.

July 15-22, 1933--First around-the-world solo flight is made by Wiley Post, who completes the trip in a Lockheed Vega in seven days.

Feb. 27-March 2, 1949--First around-the-world, nonstop flight is made by an Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress, based in Ft. Worth, Tex., covering 23,452 miles in 94 hours, with four aerial refuelings.

Jan. 11, 1962--An Air Force B-52H sets record for distance, nonstop and unrefueled, in a straight line, flying 12,532 miles from Okinawa to Madrid.

June 6-7, 1962--Another B-52H sets record for distance over a closed course, flying 11,600 miles.

March, 1981--Dick and Burt Rutan, in a Mojave coffee shop, draw the design of the Voyager on a napkin. Later that month, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager found Voyager Aircraft Inc.

June, 1984--Dick Rutan takes the Voyager up for its first solo flight over Mojave Airport. Later in the year, he and Jeana Yeager fly from Mojave to air show in Oshkosh, Wis., the first long-distance flight of the Voyager.

July 15, 1986--Rutan and Yeager set new endurance record on a closed-loop course in the Voyager between San Luis Obispo and San Francisco, flying 11,857 miles in 111 hours and 44 minutes.

Dec. 14, 1986--The Voyager begins its attempt to become the first plane in aviation history to circumnavigate the globe without stopping or refueling.

Dec. 23, 1986--Voyager returns.