Chasing the Morning Sun

The route can be flown eastbound or westbound - and Manuel chose to fly eastbound - Chasing the Morning Sun - because for the most part this meant he would be helped by the prevailing winds - and as any pilot knows, a tail wind is always preferable to a head wind.
In order to qualify for a circumnavigation record, the rules say that the flight must start and finish at the same aerodrome, cross all lines of longitude and shall not be less than 22,860 miles (36,788 kilometres) - which is equivalent to the length of the Tropic of Cancer.

Manuel started and ended his flight from Gloucestershire Airport. He then planned to fly around the world in 16 stages via the Arab States, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Hawaii, the USA and Portugal - a total of 24,000 miles (38,600 km). The route remained in the Northern Hemisphere, but only just - the most southerly point beingTarawa Island in Kiribati which lies at just 1 degree North.

The four longest legs took Manuel more than 8,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Manilla in the Philippines to San Jose, California, the longest single flight being from Tarawa Island to Hawaii - a total of 2,384 miles (3,836 km) taking over 16 hours.

The route took Manuel over some of the world's most spectacular and demanding locations - the Arabian and Arizona deserts, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and the Rockies.

However, as can be seen from the Flight Log, Manuel had to make a number of alterations to his planned route due to weather conditions and unhelpful bureaucracy - Click here for details of the actual route as flown.