One Hotel, One Idea
In 1958, Robert Timm, a WWII pilot and mechanic for the Hacienda Hotel in Las Vegas, proposed an unusual promotion: fly a Cessna 172 nonstop to break the flight endurance record. The hotel agreed, and the aircraft was heavily modified to support an airborne life.
Refueling From the Sky
Timm and new co-pilot John Cook took off on December 4. Twice a day, they met a truck on a desert highway, flew 20 feet above it, and winched up a hose to refuel mid-air. Meals and water were passed up by rope. In total, they refueled 128 times.
Record and Struggle
After 39 days, the generator failed, leaving them with no lights or electric pump. They hand-pumped fuel in darkness, slept little, and flew without autopilot when it failed. Yet they pushed beyond the previous 50-day record, finally landing on February 7, 1959.
The Aircraft Today
Timm and Cook flew 64 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes, covering 240,000 km (150,000 miles). The plane hangs today in Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport, its tires still unscuffed, the record still unbroken.
In 1958, two pilots took off from Las Vegas in a Cessna 172 and stayed airborne for more than two months, breaking the world record for longest nonstop manned flight.
They refueled in midair, lived on board, and didn’t touch the ground for 64 days and 22 hours…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/P0HrOOJOHN
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 4, 2025