World Flyers

Round the World Flight Speed Record over both the World Poles and Westbound Record

Mickey Russell and Jay Jones will attempt this epic flight in November 2012 to maximize favorable conditions and to mark the 100th anniversary of the first successful expedition in December 1911 by the Amundsen Expedition and the 40th anniversary of the first successful flight over both the world's poles by Elgen Long in November 1971. It should be noted that more humans have stood on the moon than have flown over both of the world's poles in a propeller-driven aircraft. We are also working on trying to break Max Conrad's Westbound around the world speed record in 2012.

Of all the places on the face of the Earth, The North and South Poles have proven to be the most challenging for aviators to explore because of its extreme environment. The hardest portion of this flight will be over Antarctica, is the coldest, harshest, emptiest, and most remote place on Earth. The annual mean temperature at the South Pole is approximately -56 degrees F (-49 degrees C), and the region's gale force winds make aerial exploration extremely difficult. Antarctica is a complete landmass covered by ice. It also consists of large rocky mountain ranges that climb well over 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Despite Antarctica's extreme challenges, a handful of aviators have achieved fame and satisfied their curiosity while exploring the region. In the process, they have made record-setting flights and helped advance scientific research significantly.

Mickey Russell is no stranger to planning for such a flight, having helped former Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad and former Deputy Secretary of Defense W. Paul Thayer and their crew set a world speed record in a Lear Jet in February 1996. Mickey is pleased that his friend Jay Jones has agreed to join him for this attempt. Jay is well known to fans at the Reno air races, and has a solid background in engineering and aircraft design.

The route will start in Colorado, and head to Valdez and Anchorage, Alaska. The crew will then fly over the North Pole to Greenland, then on to Canada and western Africa. They will then fly over the Equator and fly on to Kenya and then south to South Africa. From South Africa they will fly over the South Atlantic to Brazil. After reaching Brazil, they will fly along the coast until they reach the southern tip of South America. From a little-known airfield, they will fly to the South Pole and then on to Chile. The final legs will take them up western South America to Central America. After flying to Belize, they will finish their flight on the continental United States at their home base in Colorado. Please not that our routing may change due to political or other changes to countries along our route.

We will be offering spots on some of the legs for sponsors to fly the aircraft with Mickey and Jay. If you want to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime flight as a sponsor, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

On this website you will find insights into the necessary preparation work of such a project "Round-the-World-Speed-Record" as well as information about the pilots, aircraft and its equipment and updated information on the process of setting a world record flight.

During our flight we will attempt to film and document any evidence of Intelligent Design of our planet. We will also be trying to help to clarify the importance of the polar regions and the general health of our planet while making an insightful, informative and inspiring film of this historic and epic flight.

Another major focus of the film will be the importance of clean water to populations all over the globe. Since the flight will take the pilots over most of the water in the world (both in liquid and frozen form), water becomes a recurring theme in the expedition. From the frozen oceans over the North Pole to the rainforests of Africa and South America, water is ever present but not always fit for human consumption.

Our crew/production team are looking forward to sharing through this film what they will see and learn flying around the world. We've come to realize that, with the use of modern technology, we can share this experience with the public in hopes of informing or even inspiring.

In 2012 we will be attempting to also try to break Max Conrad's Westbound around the world speed record that was set in 1961 in a piston aircraft.