The RTW requirements as earlier mentioned are those of the FAI (distance required is the Tropic of Cancer/Capricorn). This always struck me as odd, not 'even' being the length of the equator.
The Guinness requirements are below. They're a little odd and even sometimes unnecessary - for example paragraph K renders paragraph G unnecessary. It's also worth noting that they are the same whether flying, boating, cycling or using a pogo stick.
Hope this is of interest.
This document acts as a guide to the specific considerations and undertakings for your potential
record attempt and is to be used in conjunction with the Guide to Your Evidence, which outlines
the evidence we require to verify the success of your record attempt. These guidelines should be
read and understood by all concerned with the record attempt prior to the attempt – this includes
every participant, organiser and witness.
These guidelines are specific to your record attempt and must be followed. Should any part of
these guidelines be contravened, your record attempt will be disqualified, without any right of
appeal.
Additionally, these guidelines in no way provide any kind of safety advice and cannot be
construed as providing any comfort that the record attempt is free from risk.
Guinness World Records (“GWR”) accepts no responsibility for the safety of participants or
bystanders in any record attempt. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that (a) all necessary
safety precautions are in place and that all equipment used is suitable and thoroughly checked
prior to the record attempt taking place and (b) you are in compliance with all applicable health
and safety laws and regulations.
If you are attempting a record online using a non-GWR website, GWR is not responsible for the
content of that platform or anything that may happen, including technical issues, during your
attempt.
If you are organising a record attempt in association with an alcoholic brand you must seek
explicit written permission in advance from GWR, otherwise your record may not be approved.
Please send your requests to GWR using the Correspondence section in your online application.
If you are organising an online record attempt which may involve the consumption of alcohol, the
following additional requirements must be met:
· The platform where the record attempt is to take place must include a responsible drinking
message.
· Age restriction, targeting or affirmation technologies should be used, where available, to
restrict access to users of legal purchase age or over.
· The record attempt must not be advertised in a manner which appeals to minors,
encourages irresponsible drinking or offensive behaviour, or challenges participants to
consume an alcoholic beverage.
Guinness World Records
Youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo
20 May 2021
The above guidance does not constitute legal advice and does not extinguish or dilute your
contractual obligations to GWR.
If upon reviewing your evidence it becomes clear that any one of the above measures has not
been adhered to, GWR reserves the right to disqualify the record attempt.
Finally, the provision of these guidelines in no way constitutes GWR’s consent for you to
undertake a record attempt. Any record attempt will only be considered to be authorised by us
where you have signed our standard agreement in relation to record attempts.
Guinness World Records
Youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo
20 May 2021
Youngest person to circumnavigate by
aircraft, solo
Record definition
· This record is for the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft (solo).
· This record is to be attempted by an individual.
· This record is measured in years and days.
Rules for Youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo
1. The proposed route must be submitted to Guinness World Records before the attempt
begins.
2. Any type of aircraft can be used for the attempt. The vehicle must stay the same throughout
the attempt.
3. The entire journey must be flown solo. Solo means without anyone else in the aircraft for
the entire duration of the attempt.
4. The pilot must have a valid pilot’s license for the aircraft he or she is using for the attempt.
5. A copy of the birth certificate, passport and the pilot’s license must be submitted with the
claim.
6. Confirmation of all take off and landing times (Zulu) by the individual airports en route must
be included in the claim. This must be in the form of an official flight log.
7. All control points shall lie at latitudes less than 66 degrees 33 minutes.
Rules for 'youngest person to circumnavigate' records
Please make sure ALL these rules are followed:
a) The record is measured in years and days.
b) The age of the claimant will be taken as that at the completion of the journey.
c) Proof of age must be provided in the form of a copy of a birth certificate and a photocopy of a
current form of identification such as a passport.
d) Start and finish points must be the same location.
e) The journey should be continual and in one direction i.e. East to West or West to East. Any
considerable distance travelled opposite to the direction of the attempt (be it on foot or by other
means of transport such as an aircraft) will be discounted from any calculations of the overall
distance travelled.
f) The journey must be continuous, with each leg of the journey beginning at the point at which
the previous leg ended
g) The minimum distance travelled by the chosen means (e.g. bicycle) should be 18,000 miles
(28,970 km), and the total distance travelled by the participant (e.g. by public or chartered
transportation), should exceed an equator’s length or ‘great circle’, i.e. more than 24,900 miles
(40,075 km).
h) No form of private transport may be used other than that by which the attempt is undertaken.
i) Scheduled public and chartered transport may be used, but the challenger must be a
passenger aboard these forms of transport. The challenger may not drive, ride or otherwise
Guinness World Records
Youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo
20 May 2021
operate any means of chartered or public transport.
j) The scheduled public or chartered transport must be operated by a commercial, professional
person or organisation. The challenger must provide tickets (or other appropriate documentation)
for all such journeys showing the date, time, start and end point and ticket price.
k) The participant must pass through two approximate antipodal points during the attempt. For
exact antipodal points the co-ordinates north and south are the same, whilst that east plus that
west equals 180°. However, for this event an allowance of 5° difference in total is permitted. For
example, consider Madrid, Spain and Wellington, New Zealand:
• Madrid, Spain 40.25N Wellington, NZ 41.17S Difference 0.92°
• Madrid, Spain 3.43W Wellington, NZ 174.47E E+W = 177.90°
• Deduct from 180° = 2.10°
• Total: 2.10° + 0.92° = 3.02° - Acceptable
l) It is a requirement that the proposed route – including public and charted transport - is
submitted prior to the attempt to ensure that the requirement with regard to the distances covered
will be achieved. Details of how the distances have been calculated must be given. The two
antipodal points on the route must also be indicated.
m) The entire journey must be tracked by the use of an accurate professional equipment GPS
tracking device carried by the challenger .kml files (on a disc or USB flash drive) must be sent in
as part of the evidence required. These files must include timestamped waypoints/trackpoints and
the distance covered.
n) The participant should not remain stationary (i.e. if he or she does not make any progress
towards her destination) for longer than 14 days. Any delays longer than this should have a very
good reason (e.g. injury) and must be accounted for to Guinness World Records. Note that
delays that cannot be reasonably justified may result in disqualification.
o) Witness statements must be completed by those witnesses present at the start and end of
the attempt. The template for these can be found in the Your Guide to Evidence document.
p) A witness book must be made available for independent witnesses, met along the journey, to
sign. The book should be set up so that each witness includes their name, the location, the date
and time, their signature and their email address or phone number. For an attempt which is
supported by a backup team, we would expect it to be possible to gain sufficient numbers of
independent witnesses to enable verification for the entire duration of the attempt. Where
possible, local dignitaries and police should be sought to sign the book. For solo and unsupported
attempts, we appreciate that it might not be possible to gain an unbroken line of witnesses for the
attempt, but one should try to obtain as many as possible.
q) Dated photographs at recognisable landmarks must be provided.
r) Receipts for purchases and services may also be collected as an additional form of proof.
Travel tickets for any form of scheduled public or chartered transport should also be kept and
submitted.
s) Copies of the traveller(s) passport/s must be submitted (only the front page and the pages
relevant to this particular journey).
t) It will assist the claim if news coverage is obtained from throughout the trip, not merely in the
country of origin.
u) Video evidence is required. We do not expect the entire attempt to be submitted on video – a
‘highlights package’ will be acceptable. This must include the following points: a) Footage of the
start of the attempt; b) The point at which the record is broken; d) Any significant occurrences
along the journey, and c) The end of the attempt.
v) Note that no distinction will be made between supported and unsupported journeys.
Guinness World Records
Youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo
20 May 2021
WITNESS REQUIREMENTS
• The role of an independent witness is to confirm that they observed the claimant undertaking
the record attempt in the manner set out by the guidelines. Independent witnesses must be made
aware of all specific guidelines in order to confirm that all have been adhered to.
• Witness statements must be completed by those witnesses present at the start and end of the
attempt. The template for these can be found in the Your Guide to Evidence document
• A witness book must be made available for independent witnesses to sign. The book should
be set up so that each witness includes their name, the location, the date and time, their
signature and their email address or phone number. For an attempt which is supported by a
backup team, we would expect it to be possible to gain sufficient numbers of independent
witnesses to enable verification for the entire duration of the attempt. Where possible, local
dignitaries and police should be sought to sign the book.
• For solo and unsupported attempts, we appreciate that it might not be possible to gain an
unbroken line of witnesses for the attempt, but one should try to obtain as many as possible.
LOG BOOK REQUIREMENTS
• Applicants must complete a log book, giving a description of the event and details of the
participant(s) daily/overall performances. It must be clear from the book the exact start and finish
points of each leg of the attempt, the exact start and finish times and calculation of daily and total
distances travelled. All rest breaks or stoppages for whatever reason must also be fully detailed in
the log. Wherever possible, entries in the logbook should be signed and dated by independent
witnesses along the route (e.g. hotel staff, police, shop owners etc.).
• The time of arrival and departure (both local and in the country of departure) at each stop
should be kept and countersigned by an official such as the captain or the chief cabin attendant.
• Receipts for purchases and services may also be collected as an additional form of proof.
PRE-APPROVAL
Please submit the following information prior to the record attempt to obtain approval of the
proposed methods. Any attempts not pre-approved may be rejected if the process is not deemed
acceptable:
1. Distance calculations: Details of how the distance to be covered has been calculated must be
given before the attempt starts, to ensure these measurements are within Guidelines.
Plans for pre-approval must be sent using the Correspondence function within your application.
Attachments such as venue layouts can be uploaded via the Evidence function. You do not need
to use the Submit Evidence button after uploading; as long as you write to us in Correspondence
and make sure to save the changes to your application, the materials will appear for us to review.
Please make sure you supply the following evidence:
• One cover letter explaining the context of the record attempt. Please indicate date, time and
exact location of the record verification. Also please provide full details of the person(s)
attempting the record including name, age, nationality and background. You can use the template
Guinness World Records
Youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo
20 May 2021
in the Guide to Your Evidence or prepare a different Cover Letter.
• A copy of the claimant’s birth certificate. If the person has been married a copy of the
marriage certificate is also required.
• A copy of a relevant current form of photographic ID card should be submitted.
• Two witness statements confirming the exact details of the start and end of the attempt, as
well as explicitly confirming all of the rules have been adhered to.
• A Witness book as described in “Witness Requirements”.
• A Log book as described above in “Log Book Requirements”
• A GPS print out must be provided and .kml files (on a disc or USB flash drive) must be
submitted.
• Photographic evidence is compulsory evidence for all record attempts. Please provide dated
photographs at recognizable landmarks if possible. High quality pictures will be considered for
publication online and in the Guinness World Records book or related products.
• Video evidence is compulsory. A ‘highlights package’ will be acceptable but must include the
following points: a) Footage of the start of the attempt; b) Two minutes footage every hour; c) Any
points where the claimant takes a break – a clock or timer must be visible on screen, but not the
camcorder’s own time display; d) The point at which the record is broken; e) The end of the
attempt.
• Media articles is not a compulsory evidence requirement but it will assist the claim if news
coverage is obtained throughout the journey. If you have media coverage (newspaper, online, TV
or radio) GWR please submit them as part of the evidence requirements.
Please read the Guide to Your Evidence document, where you will find further information about
the evidence requirements and evidence templates. It is paramount this document is read before
you submit your evidence.