This is a list of the fastest circumnavigation, made by a person or team, excluding orbits of Earth from spacecraft.

List People or team Total duration Departure date Arrival dateNotesReference Juan Sebastián Elcano and crew (originally led by Ferdinand Magellan) Magellan expedition Francis Drake and crew Francis Drake's circumnavigation Thomas Cavendish and crew Thomas Cavendish's circumnavigation Crew of the Eendracht (originally led by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire) John Byron and crew George Simpson Clipper Marco Polo, Captain James "Bully" Forbes. From Liverpoolhttps://www.thecornpoppy.com/2020/02/marco-polo-and-bully-forbes.html Clipper Lightning, Captain James "Bully" Forbes. From Liverpool to Liverpool.This period is incomplete - - George Francis Train By ships and trains, from New York City. Counting only time spent traveling; Train stopped along the way to give lectures and support the Communards, and was held in a French jail for 13 days as a result. This circumnavigation has been attributed with inspiring Jules Verne. Nellie Bly Multiple means of transport, inspired by Jules Verne Ruddick, Nicholas. “Nellie Bly, Jules Verne, and the World on the Threshold of the American Age.” Canadian Review of American Studies, Volume 29, Number 1, 1999, p. 8 George Francis Train By ships and trains, from Tacoma, Washington George Francis Train Sets the Record as the Fastest Person to Travel Round-The-World George Francis Train By ships and trains, from Fairhaven, Washington J. Willis Sayre From Seattle, via Trans-Siberian Railway. "Round-the-World Flights: J. Willis Sayre Breaks the Record as the Fastest Person to Travel Round-The-World", WingNet, retrieved December 2, 2025. Andre Jaeger-Schmidt, Henry Frederick, John Henry Mears A combination of steamers, yachts, and trains The New York Times, "A Run Around the World", August 8, 1913Linton Wells, Edward S. EvansA combination of boat, airplane, and trains John Henry Mears "Racing the Moon Round-the-World: John Henry Mears and Captain Charles B.D. Collyer", WingNet, retrieved December 2, 2025.Hugo Eckener First circumnavigation in an airship, aboard LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin from Lakehurst, New JerseyGeisenheyer, Max. "Mit 'Graf Zeppelin' Um Die Welt: Ein Bild-Buch". Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei G.m.b.H., Frankfurt am Mein (Germany), 1929.Pilot Wiley Post and navigator Harold Gatty Lockheed Vega aeroplane, travelled , did not cross equator"Wiley H. Post". First Flight Society. Retrieved: June 23, 2020.Wiley Post Using an autopilot and radio direction finder, did not cross equator. From New York CityMeunier, Claude. "WILEY POST" . Solo flights around the world. October 15, 2007. Retrieved: December 6, 2012.Howard Hughes, navigator Thomas Thurlow, engineer Richard Stoddard, and mechanic Ed Lund Lockheed 14 Super Electra (NX18973) New York City; flight operations manager Albert Lodwick"A Rich Young Texan with a Poet's Face Gets Hero's Welcome on World Flight." Life , July 25, 1938, pp. 9–11, 14. Retrieved: October 14, 2012.Navigator Milton Reynolds, pilot Bill Odom and engineer Thomas Carroll "Tex" Sallee Modified twin-engine Douglas A-26 Invader Reynolds Bombshell from/to LaGuardia Airport. Unofficial record, as the flight did not include points specified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.James Gallagher and crew (United States Air Force)B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II first aircraft to circle globe non-stop with four in-air refuelings, , did not cross equator and traveled no further south than the 20-degree parallel.Col. James MorrisMorris had co-piloted the Gallagher flight in '49 and crew (United States Air Force)Operation Power Flite, three B-52 bombers, led by Lucky Lady III, supported by at least 76 KC-76 refueling aircraft, , no equatorial crossingBonner, Sara "The fastest man in the atmosphere" in The Times, 12 January 1980, p.3.David SpringbettRetains record for circumnavigation using only scheduled public transportation.Friendship OneBoeing 747SP captained by Clay Lacy from Boeing Field in Seattle. Passengers included Neil Armstrong."Jumbo jet sets record", Associated Press, via the Mississippi Press, January 31, 1988, page 5-A.Allen Paulson and three co-pilotsGulfstream IV flown by Gulfstream CEO Allen Paulson from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas."Business jet sets record", Connecticut Post, February 29, 1988, page 2.Air France Flight 1492 Concorde FAI "Westbound Around the World" world air speed record from Lisbon, Portugal. Part of commemorations of the Columbus Quincentenary.Michel Dupont and Claude Hetru (Air France)Concorde with 98 passengers and crew, no equatorial crossing. "Eastbound Around the World" world air speed record from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York.

Other categories People or team Total duration (days) Departure date Arrival date Notes ReferenceUnited States Army Air Service, Lowell H. Smith and Leslie P. Arnold, and Erik H. Nelson and John Harding Jr. 175 calendar days, and covered 17 March 1924 28 September 1924 First aerial circumnavigation 363 flying hours 7 minutes; two aircraft of four Douglas World Cruisers complete the mission from Sand Point, Seattle, Washington."First round-the-world flight." National Museum of the United States Air Force, 8 July 2009. Retrieved: 14 July 2017.Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, and crew over 2 years 31 May 1928 June 1930 Southern Cross from Oakland, California Captain Ford and Crew one month 2 December 1941 6 January 1942Pan American World Airways' Pacific Clipper the Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat NC-18609(A) the first commercial plane flight to circumnavigate the world from Treasure Island, San Francisco to LaGuardia Field.Rutan Voyager, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds 14 December 1986 23 December 1986 first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling from Edwards Air Force BaseBertrand Piccard and Brian Jones 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes 1 March 1999 21 March 1999 Breitling Orbiter 3 first balloon to fly around the world non-stop from Swiss Alpine village of Château-d'OexAssociated Press, "'Grandiose' Trip Ends: Balloonists tough down in Egyptian desert", March 22, 1999,Steve Fossett 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes 19 June 2002 3 July 2002 Spirit of Freedom balloon, first solo aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling from Northam, Western AustraliaSteve Fossett 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 seconds 28 February 2005 3 March 2005 GlobalFlyer first solo nonstop un-refueled fixed-wing aircraft flight around the world from Salina, KansasFossett sets record for longest nonstop flight February 11, 2006"Fossett sets solo flight record" – BBC News article dated March 3, 2005"Fossett makes history" – CNN.com article dated March 4, 2005Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg 5 months 9 March 2015 Five months later Solar Impulse the first round-the-world solar flight in history.First Round-The-World Solar Flight (SolarImpulse.com)

See also

List of circumnavigations

References