On February 26, 1949, the first aircraft, dubbed Lucky Lady II, took off from Fort Worth, Texas to make the first nonstop round-the-world flight. With a captain and crew of 14 men, the plan averaged 249 miles per hour on its 23,452-mile trip. The craft was refueled four times in the air by B-29 tanker planes and returned to the U.S. on March 2 after 94 hours in the air.
