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An around the world record is the total time for the flight from take-off to landing at the initial departure airport. All gound time is included with the flight time. The current westbound record was set in May 1988 in a Beechcraft Bonanza and is 54.6mph.

The Route page has more details, but in a nut shell, only 9 stops will be made for refueling. All sleeping and eating will be done in the plane in shifts. With favorable winds and quick turn-arounds at each ground stop, the new record should be over 140 mph. That's around the world in a single engine plane in 7 days.

Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Motor Neurone Disease, MND in Europe, is a chronic, progressive disease marked by gradual degeneration of the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. The disorder causes muscle weakness and atrophy; symptoms commonly appear in middle to late adulthood, with death in two to five years. The cause is unknown, and there is no known cure. Most people who develop ALS are between 40 and 70 and it is 20% more common in men than in women. CarolAnn's mother was diagnosed at age 76. Carol's family has just been afflicted with this disease as her cousin's husband was just diagnosed with ALS in 2007.

ALS is one of the most devastating disorders that affects the function of nerves and muscles. Based on US population studies, a little over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. That's 15 new cases each day. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time. As CarolAnn travels and speaks with people about ALS, she's amazed at how many people know someone who has or had ALS. These people are happy to donate because they know the destructive nature of this disease and they also hope for a cure someday.

Lou Gehrig, with whom ALS is most commonly associated, first brought national and international attention to the disease back in 1939 when he abruptly retired from baseball after being diagnosed with ALS. However, ALS is not just Lou Gehrig's disease and it knows no boundaries. The disease has cut short the lives of such notable and courageous individuals as Hall of Fame pitcher, Jim "Catfish" Hunter; actor, Michael Zaslow; creator of Sesame Street, Jon Stone; actor, David Niven; boxing champion, Ezzard Charles; Pro Football player, Glenn Montgomery; and Senator, Jacob Javits. In 2003 while CarolAnn was flying her first world trip, Tom Watson's caddie was diagnosed with ALS. The golf community rallied and raised over $1,500,000 for ALS-TDI.

To learn more about ALS please go to the ALS Therapy Development Foundation web site at www.als.net.

To donate to research and, hopefully, finding a treatment of ALS, please visit the donation web site, or send a check to the ALS Therapy Development Foundation, 215 First St, Cambridge, MA 02142.

From central Florida, non-stop across the United States to San Diego, California. After a quick gas stop and supply replenishments our duo will set out for Lihue, Hawaii, approximately 16 hours of flying with good tailwinds.

Leaving Hawaii, their second longest leg is ahead of them, 3202 nautical miles to Guam.

They should catch 25 to 30 knot tail winds to help them along. There will be a time and distance check during this leg at which time they might decide to deviate to an extra stop in the Marshall Islands, if necessary.

After Guam they'll head for Thailand, another 2618 nautical miles, almost 3000 statute miles, where they will be met by friends which is always helpful in a foreign country. This is especially important on this trip to facilitate re-fueling and landing and departure paperwork. An oil and filter change and engine check will be performed during this stop and maybe our pilots will be lucky enough to fit in a shower.

Leaving Thailand, our pilots have a long leg to Oman then a short, 8 hour, leg to Sudan. There are no other stopping places over the Indian Ocean and even with their large fuel capacity, they can't make it to the east coast of Africa non-stop. Across Africa, they'll stop in Mali, then the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa. This is a regular jumping off point for sailors and pilots crossing the Atlantic Ocean. With good tailwinds, they will be on their longest non-stop leg, 3303 nautical miles, directly home to Florida. If a low pressure develops during their trip and brings headwinds, they'll have one more stop in the Caribbean, then a short 7 hour final leg home.

The most benign weather around the world in these regions occurs between November and January. Storms and rain are at a minimum, winds are predominantly easterly at the planned route latitudes, and the temperatures are at their coolest. Therefore this world record attempt is planned for late November or early December 2008. The two areas with the most questionable winds are across the U.S. and over the Indian Ocean. However, these are also the shorter legs and are not an issue for endurance.

Ground crew in various locations around the world will be in contact with the pilots via satellite phone regarding winds, flight plan filing, and any flight plan revisions. Other ground crews will be meeting the pilots at each stop to insure that re-fueling and ground handling are available and to facilitate turn-around time.

CarolAnn Garratt lives at a fly-in community near Ocala, Florida. Carol Foy lives at a fly-in community near Austin, Texas. CarolAnn and her Mooney flew around the world in 2003, see previous trip. Carol won the 2006 Air Race Classic in a Mooney Ovation, see www.airraceclassic.org. They each bring something to this effort besides the passion for aviation and love of flying Mooney airplanes. CarolAnn lost her Mother to ALS in 2002. Carol has a family member who was diagnosed with ALS in 2007.

The pilots and their Mooney airplanes are pictured below. Although they each own one, they'll be flying around the world in CarolAnn's Mooney on the left.

- this is not a sponsorship; 100% donation goes to research; no filter, no middle foundation. Write a check or donate on-line directly to this research institute.