![]() ![]() (Courtesy of BBC News)Īircraft have the ability to fly over land and water which allows for a route closer to a perfect circle than a nautical global circumnavigation does. Route Steve Fossett followed when he became the first person to fly a plane solo, non-stop around the globe without refueling. Two other sets of guidelines were in place for circumnavigations that were restricted to either land or water. Those were established by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (F.A.I.) for aerial circumnavigations. When we completed our expedition only one set of established guidelines existed for circumnavigations covering both land and oceans and thus not restricted by those boundaries. When envisioning a circumnavigation of the world that crosses both land and water, it is important to tie references to the globe itself and not to manmade reference markings such as the equator or specific meridians.įor circumnavigations restricted to the boundaries of the ocean or land (such as journeys by bicycle or sailboat), the journey guidelines must take into consideration the physical boundaries of the regions traveled along with reference to the globe itself. In reality, due to physical and political barriers, it is impossible to follow such an arrow-straight route, therefore guidelines have been created to dictate how far a journey can stray from a great circle route (a perfect circle of 40,075 km) and still be classified as a circumnavigation. ![]() Another possibility would be a journey tracing the first and 180th meridian and intersecting both poles. An example of the infinite possibilities for such a route would be following the Equator around the world. ![]() It could be stated that a circumnavigation of the world is a journey of 40,075 km or 24, 901 miles (the circumference of the world at its widest point) following a perfect circle around the planet. On a flat plane, a circumnavigation is a simple concept however, defining a circumnavigation of the earth is more complicated due to the spherical characteristics of the planet. For example, a circumnavigation of an island would be a journey that completely encircles the landmass. Webster’s 9th Edition defines a circumnavigation as: to go around instead of through.
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