The First People to Fly Across the Country, the Ocean, and More
How fast could you travel across the country, across an ocean, or around the world? A few hours? 80 days?
The answer has changed over time as technology has advanced.
Some of the most famous pilots—Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart—rose to fame by setting (or breaking) these records. Find their stories and others you may not know below.
The stories on this page aren’t a complete list of record-breaking flights. You can find more stories on our Records and Firsts topic page—and new achievements are being made every year.
Jump to a Section: Crossing the Country Crossing the Ocean Circling the Globe Other Distance Records For Young Learners
Who were the first people to fly across the country?
1911
First Transcontinental Flight
The first person to fly across the country was Calbraith Perry Rodgers. He did not fly nonstop—he had to stop many times and crashed many more. His trip took him 49 days.
1923
First Nonstop Transcontinental Flight
After World War I, the U.S. Army Air Service was testing the limits of flight. Lieutenants John A. Macready and Oakely G. Kelly helped do this by making the first nonstop flight across the United States. The flight took 27 hours, and required significant planning, engineering, and trial and error.
1929
First Round-Trip Transcontinental Flight
Nick Mamer and Art Walker were the first people to make a nonstop round-trip transcontinental flight, flying from Spokane, WA to New York, NY. The trip took five days, requiring refueling in air. The refueling alone made history as the first night refueling and the first in-air refueling about 8,000 feet in altitude. At one dangerous point, the plane’s propeller cut the fuel line mid-refuel. Thankfully the spilled fuel did not catch fire.
Continuing to Make History
The first pilots to fly across country were all white men. Women and pilots of color faced more barriers. They often found it difficult to find flying schools that would train them. They also had additional considerations for their safety on long distance flights, and may not have had the same access to financial support.
However, this didn’t keep them from setting records. When a woman or person of color made one of these long-distance flights, it was often used to advocate for opening the skies to more people.
Amelia Earhart
1932
When Earhart made this flight nonstop, she established a women's record of 19 hours and 5 minutes and setting a women's distance record of 2,447 miles. This was one of Earhart's many firsts.
James Banning and Thomas Cox Allen
1932
When Banning and Allen took off, they had $25 and a plan. They’d stop in towns where they knew people for safe lodging, and raise money along the way. Needless to say, things didn’t go according to plan.
Charles A. Anderson and Albert E. Forsythe
1933
Forsythe and Anderson beat the record setting flights that came before them by flying from Atlantic City, NJ to Los Angeles, CA and back in 65 hours—almost half the time of the first non-stop round-trip flight.
Who were the first people to fly across the Atlantic Ocean?
1919
First Flight Across the Atlantic
The first flight to cross the Atlantic Ocean was a long one. The six-person crew made the five-leg flight in 24 days.
The crew consisted of: Lt. Elmer F. Stone, U.S. Coast Guard, pilot; Chief Machinist’s Mate Eugene S. Rhodes, engineer; Lt. Walter Hinton, copilot; Ensign Herbert C. Rodd, radio officer; Lt. James L. Breese, engineer; and Lt. Cmdr. Albert C. Read, commanding officer and navigator.
They began on May 8, 1919, at the naval air station at Rockaway Beach, New York. It followed a route to Nova Scotia; Newfoundland; the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic; Lisbon, Portugal; and Portsmouth, England.
The U.S. Navy organized the flight to prove the capability of the airplane. Two other flying boats, the NC-1 and NC-3 also attempted the flight. Only the NC-4 completed the transatlantic journey.
1919
First Nonstop Flight Across the Atlantic
Less than a month after the U.S. Navy completed the first transatlantic flight in 24 days, two men completed it non-stop in 16 hours. John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown flew from St. John’s, Newfoundland and crash landed in a bog near Galway, Ireland.
1927
First Nonstop Solo Flight Across the Atlantic
Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic solo in May 1927. After 33 hours, 30 minutes, and 3,610 miles later he landed his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, safely near Paris, where he was greeted by a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 100,000.
1932
First Woman to Fly Nonstop and Solo Across the Atlantic
In May 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman—and the second person after Charles Lindbergh—to fly nonstop and solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She left Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Canada, and landed about 15 hours later near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The feat made Earhart an instant worldwide sensation.
1939
First Passenger Flight Across the Atlantic
Pan American’s Dixie Clipper was the first passenger plane to fly across the Atlantic, travelling from New York to France.
Who were the first people to fly around the world?
1924
First Flight Around the World
After World War I, the U.S. Army Air Service was testing the limits of flight and announced it would make the first around the world flight. Four planes took off, two would make the 175 day journey. Crews prevailed against an endless series of forced landings, repairs, and bad weather. A monumental logistical accomplishment, it was an important step toward world-wide air transport.
1933
First Person to Fly Solo Around the World
In July 1933, Wiley Post made history as the first person to fly solo around the world.
Two years earlier, Post and his navigator Harold Gatty made the flight around the world in record time. Their 14-stop route took only 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes.
Flying solo, Post followed his former route but only made 11 stops. His 15,596-mile journey took only 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.
1942
First Passenger Flight Around the World (Arguably)
In January 1942 a B-314 flying boat operated by Pan American World Airways landed in New York after making arguably the first around the world flight by a commercial airliner. But when they set out from San Francisco in 1941, they never intended to hold that record.
Continuing to Make History
The first pilots to around the globe were all white men. As mentioned above, many white men had opportunities that women and people of color did not. For instance, a woman could not have flown for the U.S. Army Air Service in the 1920s.
This didn't stop women and people of colors for making these history making long distance flight, however, they did make them later.
Jerrie Mock
1964
Almost three decades after Amelia Earhart famously disappeared while attempting to fly around the world, Jerrie Mock made the trip.
Barrington Irving Jr.
2007
Irving, originally from Jamacia, was a college student in Florida when he circumnavigated the globe. At the time, he was the youngest person to fly around the Earth.
Amelia Earhart
1937
Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared while attempting to fly around the world.
The firsts represented on this page are not the only people to set records with long distance flying. As technology evolves and people’s imagination and ambition continues to look to the sky, new records are continually being set. Here's just a small sample.
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager
1986
The pilots, the designer, and the crew chief earned aviation's most prestigious award, the Collier Trophy.
Jennifer Murray
1997
Jennifer Murray has flown around the world twice. In 1997, she flew with her instructor, Quentin Smith, becoming the first woman to fly a helicopter around the world. Three years later in 2000, Murray made her second around-the-world flight, becoming the first woman to do so solo in a helicopter.
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones
1999
Piccard and Jones piloted their balloon to altitudes of over 30,000 feet, where jet stream winds would drive it across the Pacific at over 100 miles per hour.
Other Record-Setting Long Distance Flights
Many other pilots made headlines with long-distance flights that weren't crossing or circling a distance, or who weren’t the first to do so.
1939
In the 1930s, advocates for Black pilots used the news generated by long-distance flights made by African American aviators to advocate for more opportunities.
Chauncey Spencer and Dale White made a “Goodwill Flight” across America, including a stop in Washington D.C. to meet with lawmakers including then Senator Harry S. Truman.
Timeline
This page was organized by the type of record-setting long distance flight, but you might be wondering: how do all these dates line up? The timeline puts all the dates in chronological order.
1911: First Transcontinental (Cross-Country) Flight by Calbraith Perry Rodgers
1919: First Flight Across the Atlantic for the U.S. Navy
1919: First Nonstop Flight Across the Atlantic by John Alcock and Arthur Brown
1923: First Nonstop Transcontinental Flight by Lts. Oakley Kelly and John Macready for the U.S. Army Air Service
1924: First Flight Around the World by the crews of two Douglas World Cruiser’s for the U.S. Army Air Service
1927: First Nonstop Solo Flight Across the Atlantic by Charles Lindbergh
1928: First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic as a Passenger by Amelia Earhart
1932: First Woman to Fly Nonstop and Solo Across the Atlantic by Amelia Earhart
1932: First Woman to Fly Nonstop and Solo Cross-Country by Amelia Earhart
1932: First African Americans to Fly Cross Country by James Banning and Thomas Cox Allen
1933: First African Americans to Fly Round-Trip, Nonstop Cross-Country by Charles A. Anderson and Albert E. Forsythe
1933: First Person to Fly Solo Around the World by Wiley Post
1937: Amelia Earhart Disappears Attempting to Fly Around the World
1939: First Passenger Flight Across the Atlantic by Pan Am’s Dixie Clipper
1942: Arguably the First Passenger Flight Around the World By Pan Am’s B-314 Flying Boat
1964: First Woman to Fly Around the World by Jerrie Mock
1986: First Nonstop Non-Refueled Flight Around the World by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager
1997: First Woman to Fly a Helicopter Around the World by Jennifer Murray
1999: First Nonstop Free Balloon Flight Around the World by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones
2007: Barrington Irving Jr. First Black Man to Fly Solo Around the World
Resources for Young Learners
For early childhood learners
In this short (less than 2 minute) animated video, learn the history of the first flight around the world.
For middle schoolers
In this 30 minute episode, look at aerospace records and investigate how other world records are achieved.
Activities for families with kids age 4 through 12
Explore what it takes to set an aerospace record with videos and activities for families.