Bill Harrelson Smashes 58-Year-Old Circumnavigation Record

Bill Harrelson landed in California on Sunday (December 15, 2019) in his Lancair IV, having completed the fastest light-plane around-the-world trip ever. The record, which still awaits official confirmation by the National Aeronautical A and FAI, looks to upend Max Conrad's mark. Conrad flew around the world in a Piper Aztec in 1961 in eight days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, one of several record flights the Minnesota native made in his lifetime. Conrad died in 1979. Harrelson's flight beat that mark by more than 19 hours. The flight took him from Ontario, California, to, well, back to Ontario, California, westbound, with stops in Hawaii, Indonesia, South Africa, Puerto Rico, and from there back to Ontario.