Expedition Global Eagle was the first attempt in history to

circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magellan Exped ...

the globe using an

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

.BBC News
You only live twice? A Nottingham man is part of a team hoping to circumnavigate the globe in one of James Bond's gadgets. Quote: "The autogyro is the only aircraft never to circumnavigate the globe. But now a team of soldiers are bidding to do just that and make a piece of aviation history."Gulf News
British pilot on a daring world tour for charity The flight was attempted in 2004 by

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

Barry Jones using an open-cockpit autogyro which he named ''Global Eagle''. The purpose of the mission was twofold; to set the world record and to raise funds for three charities; the

Dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

Institute, the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

and the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

. Jones embarked on his mission on 26 April 2004 from the

Museum of Army Flying The Army Flying Museum, previously known as the Museum of Army Flying, is a British military aviation museum about the history of flying in the British Army. It is located at Middle Wallop Flying Station, close to Andover in Hampshire, Englan ...

Middle Wallop Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

with an honorary

military helicopter A military helicopter is a helicopter that is either specifically designed for or converted for usage by a military. A military helicopter's mission is a function of its design or conversion. The most common use of military helicopters is airlif ...

armada accompanying him during the send off.Picture of Honorary Armada escorting Global Eagle from Middle Wallop
/ref> The expedition was supported by a team of soldiers based at

Dishforth Dishforth is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Dishforth translates from Old English as dic-ford; a ford by a dike or ditch. The population of the parish taken at the 2001 census as 719 and had risen to 905 ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The expedition encountered difficulties while flying through Europe, including the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and it was downgraded due to flight delays before finally being abandoned after it landed in

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

around the onset of

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season. Jones had set up a website where he described the details of each stage of his trip.Global Eagle website GE termination notice through Internet Archive
/ref> The images of the flight as well as details of each stage of the flight were regularly uploaded on the website.

History

The autogyro was the last remaining type of aircraft which has not a yet been used to circumnavigate the globe. The expedition was the first attempt ever to fly an autogyro around the Earth, a trip of about 25,000 miles (40,000 km).BBC news
Weather halts record flight bid
Quote: "Expedition Global Eagle is the worlds first attempt to fly around the world in an autogyro. Global Eagle departed in April 2004 and will take approximately three and a half months to complete its journey. which will see the gyroplane visit 25 different countries." In February 2003, a year before the circumnavigation attempt, the ''Global Eagle'' broke the world range record by flying non-stop from Culdrose in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, a total of 580 miles (928 km), after a flight lasting 7 hours and 23 minutes, breaking the old record of either 543.27 statute miles (874.32 km) or 869.23 km (540.11 mi) held by

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Ken Wallis Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis (26 April 1916 – 1 September 2013) was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the ...

.Pilot celebrates distance record in '007' gyroplane From the Northern Echo, first published Tuesday 25 February 2003.
Quote: "After his landing yesterday he said: "I am absolutely delighted. There were several tricky moments but the journey has gone very well. I am now looking forward to celebrating with the rest of the team in Wick later on." He said the flight had uncovered teething problems with the aircraft, Global Eagle, which would now be put right before he sets out on his next record attempt—flying round the world in June. "Soon after setting out I lost power to the radio and drifted off course towards America, without a visa. "I was forced to fly above the cloud over Wales, which was a totally new experience in an open-cockpit. "The hairiest bit was flying for about 50 miles over open sea, which is all right in a twin-engined helicopter but a different matter in a single-engined gyroplane. If the engine cuts out then that is it, you are down. "One thing that will need a rethink is the design of the cockpit—there was no room to read a map.""BBC news
Army pilot's gyroplane record bid 26 April 2004
/ref> During the record-breaking trip Jones drifted toward

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

due to a broken radio, before finally correcting the course. While flying over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

he had to fly over the clouds in the open cockpit of the autogyro. He also flew for approximately 50 miles (80 km) over the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

which, as he acknowledged during an interview, was a dangerous course due to the fact the autogyro only had one engine and therefore in case it cut-off there would be no alternative solution but to crash land in the water. The average flight altitude was 4,000 ft and the average speed was 70 mph. In 2004, Jones, a

Lynx helicopter The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

pilot, was one of 75 licensed autogyro pilots in the UK.Yorkshire pilot speaks of nerves over world trip
Published Date: 15 April 2004 Julie Hemmings Later in 2003 the original Eagle suffered an accident during landing. The circumnavigation attempt trip commenced on 26 April 2004 under the patronage of General Sir Michael Walker,BJR Systems
Quote: "General Sir Michael Walker, Chief of Defence Staff, is the patron of Expedition Global Eagle." and "The autogyro is now on the brink of making aviation history and in the bid to do so, WO2 Jones will closely follow the route taken by Brian Milton in 1998, when he became the first person to fly a microlight around the world." and "The autogyro is the last remaining class of aircraft yet to circumnavigate the globe." Chief of Defence Staff of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

and it was supposed to last about three and a half months. The autogyro flight was to have touched down in twenty five countries with frequent landings due to the limited range of the autogyro. The ''Global Eagle'' route was planned to approximately follow the flightpath taken by

Brian Milton Brian Milton is a British journalist, adventurer and aviation historian who made the first circumnavigation of the world in an ultralight aircraft in 1998. In the face of significant political, geographical, personal and physical hardships, he ...

in 1998 when he became the first person to circumnavigate the globe using a

microlight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

. Due to technical difficulties with the original gyrocopter the gyro at launch was supplied by the Italian manufacturer ''Magni Gyro'' which also supplied spare parts and technical assistance to the expedition.Magni Gyro Details from Global Eagle Website
/ref>Picture of Barry Jones and his Magni Gyro
/ref> The new gyro featured a new colour scheme and the eagle logo was not used. VPM M-16

The expedition successfully completed the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an leg of the journey which included

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

Casaleggio Novara Casaleggio Novara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. ...

, the location of the Magni airfield in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. At the 2021 census, there were 10,704 inhabitants, most of ...

Kos Kos or Cos (; ) is a Greek island, which is part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 37,089 (2021 census), making ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and the military base of Akrotiri in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, albeit with delays.Global Eagle website details
/ref> The journey through the Alps was very difficult because Jones had to climb to 10,000 feet over the Alps where it was extremely windy. Jones also had to make a

forced landing A forced landing is a landing by an aircraft made under factors outside the pilot's control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components, or weather which makes continued flight impossible. However, the term also means a landing that has ...

in the

Italian Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Also the trip from Athens to Akrotiri over the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

proved very frightening because flying over the water, with only a few ships below, meant that it would be very difficult to get any help in case of a mishap. From Akrotiri, Global Eagle went to

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Turaif Turaif (Arabic: طريف) is a city and governorate in northern Saudi Arabia. It is part of the Northern Borders Province and is located near the border with Jordan. Overview Turaif is one of the cities that were established due to the presence o ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, Arar,

Hafr Al-Batin Hafar al-Batin ( '), also frequently spelled ''Hafr al-Batin'', is a city in the Hafar al-Batin Governorate, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It is located 430 km north of Riyadh, 94.2 km from the Kuwait border, and about 74.3 from the ...

Qaisumah Qaisumah or Al Qaysumah () is a village belonging to the city of Hafar al-Batin, in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province (also known as Ash Sharqiyah), Saudi Arabia. It is located at around . The weather in Qaisumah is extreme, with ...

Jubail Jubail (, ''Al Jubayl'') is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 474,679 as of 2022. It is home to one of the largest industrial cities in the world. It is also home to the Middle ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

in the

Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and

Muscat, Oman Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

.Picture of Brian Jones flying over the desert of Saudi Arabia
/ref> Over Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Jones had to fly over the

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

for hours and to battle

sandstorms A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transport ...

and hot weather at low altitudes while at higher altitudes it would become very cold. Further, communication was impossible while flying over the desert because of a lack of ground stations and the atmospheric conditions prevailing in the area. While there, Jones had to communicate with commercial aircraft flying over the desert which would then relay his messages to the ground stations at the local airports. A

Saudia Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the ...

flight helped him approach and land at

. Subsequently, Jones arrived at

and from there he flew to

and then

Gawadar Gwadar (, ) is a port city on the southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a population of over 90,000, according to the 2017 census. It was an ov ...

and

Ormara Ormara ( Balochi and , ), is a town and tehsil in Gwadar District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is a port in the Makran coastal region. It is located west of Karachi and east of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. This port is also menti ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and, finally,

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. The flight from Muscat to Karachi broke the record for the longest flight over water by an autogyro and lasted six hours. From Karachi, Jones flew the autogyro to

where it navigated to

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

and Baghdogra, sometimes through sandstorms, and finally landed during

rains in the army base of

. The delays incurred in the European leg of the journey proved damaging to the effort because Jones was forced to arrive in India during monsoon season. The monsoons he encountered were the worst in 20 years with 100 people killed in the Guwahati area alone.Record attempt in doubt after gyro is damaged
Published Date: 12 October 2004 DISASTER has struck a Yorkshire-based pilot's attempt to set a world record by flying an autogyro from England to Australia single handed. Bill Bridge The technical difficulties encountered in India, due to the weather, led to the downgrading of the purpose of the mission from circumnavigating the globe to flying to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

.Flyer UK
Expedition Global Eagle washed out Jones and his support team then returned to the UK in order to revise the plans for the truncated trip to Australia. Upon returning to India they discovered that the gyro while at the army base of

had spent time submerged in water. The

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

, the

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and the rest of the instruments were damaged. As well, the flying controls and the cables needed to be replaced. The damage totalled £10,000 and could not be raised on time. In addition the team members, being soldiers, had to return to

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. Indian The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one of the largest active service forces in the world, with almost 1.42 million Active Standin ...

by early 2005. This led to the attempt being abandoned. The trip when cancelled had covered between 6,550–7,500 miles (10,480–12,100 km) and had lasted for four months due to the delays experienced, averaging approximately 350 miles per flight day.Magnigyro website
Quote:"The "Eagle" _ as the gyro is named _ left Middle Wallop (England) on 26th April 2003 and reached India after nearly 4 months' flying over land and sea. This was a demonstration of the wide range of conditions a gyro can operate within." Even though the expedition did not succeed in its goal of circumnavigating the globe it demonstrated the wide range of conditions under which a light, open-cockpit autogyro could operate.

Completed route details

The detailed route, times and other details of the completed trip were as follows: *26 April 2004: Departure from Middle Wallop — Ostend (Belgium): Total distance 300 km, including 70 km over the

*30 April 2004: Ostend (EBOS, Belgium) — Friedrichshaven (Germany): — 630 km Total distance since start : 930 km *3 May 2004: Friedrichshafen (Germany) —

—

— Casaleggio, Novara (Italy): — Total distance: 457 km *3–6 May 2004: While on the way to Bolzano 60 km/h wind gusts cause Eagle to force land on a sports field 30 km north of Bolzano in the Alps.General Diary
/ref> *7 May 2004: Departure from Bolzano at 0900z and landing at Magni airfield in Casaleggio, Italy 13:22 local time *10 May 2004: Depart Magni at 12:00 local time, refuelling at

LIPK 11:23–13:00 — refuelling at

LIBP — Arrival Bari LIBD (Italy) 1700 — Trip distance: 828 km Total distance since start : 2,215 km *12 May 2004: Lift-off from Bari at 10:21 local time — refuelling at

Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport Corfu International Airport "Ioannis Kapodistrias" () or Ioannis Kapodistrias (Capodistrias) International Airport is a government-owned airport on the Greek island of Corfu at Kerkyra, serving both scheduled and charter flights from European c ...

LGKR. — Arrival at Athens Airport at 16:30 — Trip distance: 700 km Total distance since start : 2,915 km *13 May 2004: Departure from Athens 0800 — Refuelling at Myconos — refuelling at Kos. Strong headwinds force landing at Rhodes LGRD. *14 May 2004: Early morning lift-off from Rhodes and landing in Akrotiri (Cyprus) following a flight of more than 3 hours over the Mediterranean, with ground speed of sometimes over 170 km/h. Trip distance: 907 km Total distance since start: 3,822 km *16 May 2004: Akrotiri (Cyprus) — Amman (Jordan) : 420 km *17–19 May 2004: Break — 3 days off. *20 May 2004: Amman — Turaif (Saudi Arabia) — Ar'Ar : 580 km *21 May 2004: Ar'Ar — Hafr-AL-Batin : 420 km *22 May 2004: Hafr-AL-Batin — Al Quasumah — Jubail (Saudi Ar) — Bahrain: 593 km. Total distance since start : 5,835 km *24 May 2004: Bahrain — Abu Dhabi (Arab Emirates) : 452 km *26 May 2004: Abu Dhabi — Muscat (Oman): 410 km. Total distance since start: 6,697 km *30 May 2004: Muscat (Oman) — Karachi (Pakistan) : 880 km over the sea *1 June 2004: Karachi — Ahmedabad (India) : 592 km. *2 June 2004: Udaipur — Jaipur: 525 km. *3 June 2004: Jaipur — Delhi (India): 249 km — Sandstorms. Total distance since start: 8,943 km. Barry Jones sick with stomach disease, resting. *7 June 2004: Jones recovers, but the monsoon season has started. Waiting for delivery of administrative clearances *9 June 2004: Departs from Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi, India) — Bareilly: 220 km. Barry Jones forced to return to Delhi due to inclement weather. *10 June 2004: Delhi — Bareilly: 249 km. Second attempt successful. Arrival at 10:05 local time. *11 June 2004: Bareilly-Gorakhpur: 436 km. *12 June 2004: Gorakhpur — — Patna — Baghdogra : 552 km. Departure at 08:30 local time. Arrival at 16:10 local time. Total distance since start: 10,150 km *13 June 2004: Baghdogra — Guwahati : 330 km. Delays due to bad weather *14 June 2004: Bad weather for the whole week. Flight clearances need to be renewed. Jones considers returning to Delhi using a commercial flight. *15 June 2004: Jones arrives in Delhi. Trying to recoup and rethink the plan. New flights will be over hills and jungles. Weather is bad. *21 June 2004: Baghdogra — Guwahati: 330 km. Jones departure at 0353 and arrival at Guwahati in monsoon rain. Flight time: 3 hrs 40 minutes. *21 June 2004: Rain continues. Total distance travelled since start: 10,480 km Route now changes to Australia as the final destination due to difficulties and bad weather. *1–5 October 2004: Barry Jones returns to India to re-evaluate mission. Decision is made to abandon effort.

Remaining route

This is the list of the unfinished part of the expedition:Proposed Route
/ref> *India — Imphal *Burma — Mandalay Intl *Laos — Luang Prabang *Vietnam — Noibai Intl *China — Wuxu — Baiyun *Hong Kong — Hong Kong Intl *China — Gaoqi — Changle — Lishe — Hongqiao — Liuting — Beijing Intl — Zhoushuizi — Taoxian — Dafangshen — Taiping *Russia — Igatevo — Sokoc — Ugolny — Provideniya Bay *Alaska — Tin City — Nome — Koyuk — Pitka — Minchumina — Cantwell — Gulkana *Canada — Burwash — Atlin — Dease Lake — Smithers — Belia Coola — Puntzi Mountain — Pemberton — Abbotsford *USA — Plan not finalised *Canada — Mirabel Intl —- Bagotville — Rimouski — Sept-Iles — Wabush — Schefferville — Kuujjuaq — Quaqtaq — Kimmirut — Iqaluit — Pangnirtung — Qikiqtarjuaq *Greenland — Kangerlussuaq — Kulusuk *Iceland — Reykjavik — Hornafjordur *Denmark — Vagar *UK — Kirkwall — Wick — Inverness — Leuchars — Edinburgh — Carlisle — Dishforth — Middle Wallop

Technical specifications

The Magni gyrocopter model: Magni VPM M16 (Similar to the Magni M16 - 2000) used in the expedition had the following specifications: *Weight: Empty weight 261/266 kg, maximum take-off gross weight 450 kg *Maximum speed 115 mph *Cruising speed 90 mph *Absolute ceiling 4000 m *Service ceiling 3500 m *Take-off roll 70 m *Landing roll from 0 to 30 m *Rate of climb 5 m/s *Fuel tank capacity 72 L *Rotor diameter 8230/8535 mm *Propeller diameter 1700 mm *Overall width 1800 mm *Overall length 4655 mm *Overall height 2600 mm *Airframe: chrome-alloy aeronautical 4130 steel, tig welded. Fiberglass fairing, wheel pants and instrument panel. *Seat: epoxy / fiberglass with integral fuel-tank, *Instruments: rotor tachometer, altimeter, air speed indicator, Flydat and fuel gauge *Engine used for expedition: 914 Rotax Turbo, 4 cylinders, 4 stroke, water cooled, 115 hp, with electric starter and mechanical prerotator. (Also available: Rotax 912 ULS, 100 Hp) *Propeller: three-blades, carbon fiber, ground adjustable pitch. *Rotor: two-blades, composite. *Controls: double. Electric trim.

References

{{reflist

External links

Global Eagle website through Internet Archive
Circumnavigation Aviation in England 2004 in aviation 2004 in England