FLASHBACK: Project Long Gone - 80 Hours Airborne in a B-47 Stratojet
Spending hours flying cross-country in a commercial airliner can be feel like an eternity, but in November 1955, Capt. Shelton Anthony and his crew spent over three days airborne inside of a Boeing B-47 Stratojet. The flight departed Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in the early morning hours of Nov. 27, 1955, and the crew remained airborne for a total of 80 hours and 36 minutes, covering a distance of 39,200 statute miles before landing back at Wright-Patterson AFB just before lunchtime on Nov. 30.
Primary purpose of the flight was to test the effectiveness of an experimental, tilting ejection seat equipped with a pulsating cushion and pneumatic back rest. Also studied were long-range habitability problems, minimum space requirements for pilots, and techniques necessary to keep them efficient and comfortable.
Read the full account at: B-47 Project Long Gone Flashback