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1982: Around the world in 6 days
With a time of six days and 7½ hours, two Canadian pilots have broken the world
record for an around-the-globe flight by a single-engine plane. Don Muir, 26,
and André Daemon, 22, shaved more than 28 hours off the previous record. A crowd
at Montreal's Dorval airport cheers as their Cessna 210 touches down and camera
operators jostle to take the first photograph of the triumphant team in this CBC
Television report.
• Don Muir and André Daemon completed their journey in their plane -- The Wings
of Life -- in six days, seven hours, 25 minutes and 47 seconds. They travelled
36,500 kilometres.
• Muir, a bush pilot from Sioux Lookout, Ont., and Daemon, a flight instructor from Montreal, carried several good luck charms with them on their historic journey. Each pilot wore a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of safe travel). They also packed a Bible in their survival kit and fixed a small statue of Snoopy -- the Red Baron -- above their radio.
• By the time they completed their flight, Muir and Daemon had raised $150,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society (this clip reports $100,000 donated to that point.)
• "We never worried about not making it. The wind was in our favour and flying was incredibly smooth," Daemon told the Toronto Star after the flight. (Aug. 8, 1982)
• Muir and Daemon made pit stops in St. John's; Shannon, Ireland; Naples, Italy; Cairo; Bahrain; Bombay; Madras; Kuala Lumpur; Manila; Guam; Majuro; Honolulu; San Francisco; Denver and Chicago.
• On their journey, the pilots subsisted on a diet of sandwiches, peanut butter, cookies, V-8 juice, apple juice and spring water.
• The previous record was set by Seattle lawyer Robert Muckleston in 1978.
• As of June 2006, Muir and Daemon's record still stands as authenticated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Also on August 7:
• 1950: The federal cabinet decides 5,000 Canadian soldiers will serve with the United Nations forces in Korea. Prime Minister St-Laurent makes the announcement on a national radio broadcast.
• 1979: Jacques and Louise Cossette-Trudel are sentenced to two years less a day for their part in the October 1970 FLQ kidnapping of British trade commissioner James Cross in Montreal.
• 1997: Bjarni Tryggvason becomes the seventh Canadian in space when the shuttle Discovery lifts off. Tryggvason performs various experiments during his 11-day, 20-hour mission as a payload specialist.
• Muir, a bush pilot from Sioux Lookout, Ont., and Daemon, a flight instructor from Montreal, carried several good luck charms with them on their historic journey. Each pilot wore a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of safe travel). They also packed a Bible in their survival kit and fixed a small statue of Snoopy -- the Red Baron -- above their radio.
• By the time they completed their flight, Muir and Daemon had raised $150,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society (this clip reports $100,000 donated to that point.)
• "We never worried about not making it. The wind was in our favour and flying was incredibly smooth," Daemon told the Toronto Star after the flight. (Aug. 8, 1982)
• Muir and Daemon made pit stops in St. John's; Shannon, Ireland; Naples, Italy; Cairo; Bahrain; Bombay; Madras; Kuala Lumpur; Manila; Guam; Majuro; Honolulu; San Francisco; Denver and Chicago.
• On their journey, the pilots subsisted on a diet of sandwiches, peanut butter, cookies, V-8 juice, apple juice and spring water.
• The previous record was set by Seattle lawyer Robert Muckleston in 1978.
• As of June 2006, Muir and Daemon's record still stands as authenticated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Also on August 7:
• 1950: The federal cabinet decides 5,000 Canadian soldiers will serve with the United Nations forces in Korea. Prime Minister St-Laurent makes the announcement on a national radio broadcast.
• 1979: Jacques and Louise Cossette-Trudel are sentenced to two years less a day for their part in the October 1970 FLQ kidnapping of British trade commissioner James Cross in Montreal.
• 1997: Bjarni Tryggvason becomes the seventh Canadian in space when the shuttle Discovery lifts off. Tryggvason performs various experiments during his 11-day, 20-hour mission as a payload specialist.
Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: Aug. 7, 1982
Guest(s): Don Muir
Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Jim Sunstrum
Duration: 2:04
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: Aug. 7, 1982
Guest(s): Don Muir
Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Jim Sunstrum
Duration: 2:04
Last updated: February 26, 2013
Page consulted on March 27, 2013
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