• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
General Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Digital Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Westbound round-the-world record attempt happening now

By Ben Sclair · December 11, 2019 ·

Flying around the world isn’t for the faint of heart. Especially in a general aviation aircraft.

Efficiency expert Bill Harrelson, flying his Lancair IV (N6ZQ), is mid-attempt as I type this. At present, he’s over the Pacific Ocean enroute to Jakarta from Honolulu.

PHNL-WIHH (Honolulu, Hawaii to Jakarta, Indonesia) via Spidertracks.

His goal? Beat the current westbound round-the-world record set by Max Conrad in 1961. To do that, he’ll need to land in Ontario, California, before Dec. 17 at 01:33:39 Zulu.

His route includes just five stops:

  • Leg 1: Ontario, CA to Honolulu, HI — estimated 13 hours (actual 13 hours, 7 minutes)
  • Leg 2: Honolulu, HI to Jakarta, INA — estimated 31 hours
  • Leg 3: Jakarta, INA to Capetown, ZA -— estimated 29 hours
  • Leg 4: Capetown, ZA to San Juan, PR — estimated 29 hours
  • Leg 5: San Juan, PR to Ontario, CA — estimated 18 hours

Bill is no novice when it comes to long distance flight. Be sure to follow along.

About Ben Sclair

Ben Sclair is the Publisher of General Aviation News, a pilot, husband to Deb and dad to Zenith, Brenna, and Jack. Oh, and a staunch supporter of general aviation.

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Become better informed pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

© 2025 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines