A Man And His Cessna 182 Have Been Around The World ... Twice

For 10 years, Robert Gannon has flown his 1969 Cessna 182 just about everywhere.

C182 File Photo

Really.

To all 50 states and 155 countries.

By his logbook, Gannon has landed the airplane he calls "Lucky Lady Too" on dirt strips to miles of concrete. He has made two circumnavigations ... one each way. He's flown over the North Pole.

All that ended January 8th when the 60-year-old pilot retured to San Diego with his airplane, the first time the two had been there together in the decade they've been flying together. Gannon would always return home, wherever that might have been at the time, via commercial airlines, having parked his Cessna in some 40 different countries, according to his website.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Gannon started flying in 1992 in San Diego, and had his private certificate and instrument rating within three months. He almost immediately flew to Paris (yes, France) in a Cherokee. He began his 10-year journey in 2000, and told the paper he has done such things as modifying the 182 so that most of the cabin was fuel tank in order to make the flight to Hawaii. More than once, he said, he has landed with about a "spoonful" of gas after diverting around weather, or on very long legs such as a 17 1/2 hour flight from West Africa to Brazil.

Gannon, who never married or had children, says he's ending his adventures with some mixed emotions. He says he may write a book from his logs and journals. He said one of the most difficult things for him to do may be to "wean himself off" the stimulation of flying.

We're not to sure why that's necessary.

FMI: www.earthrounders.com/cgi/gannon_letters.php