My longest single flight in a glider (Pegasus single seat, wingspan 15 meters, glide ratio 40 to one) was EIGHT HOURS AND FIFTY THREE MINUTES! 8 hr. 53 min.
In a regional competition from Husbands Bosworth.
After you have been launched by aerotow, you have to faff around local until EVERY other glider has been offered a launch (50 gliders in the comp.) And then you can start on the assigned task, which was FIVE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN KILOMETERS. Of the 50 gliders, 27 completed the task. I was the slowest to complete, so I didn't win....but that was the Diamond Distance at last, for me. Very very satisfying on all counts. Especially getting back (just ) on the last thermal of the day....over the LIFT factory in Northampton!
Looking at the bugs splatted all over my wings, I wondered what effect that had on the performance....but the good news was a 5 knot tailwind. When I called "987, 3 minutes" to the observers at the finish line, and dived down over them so they wouldn't miss my arrival, they radioed "987, good finish. OK, boys, you can shut down the finish line now, she finally got back....."
In power, I hardly ever fly for more than two hours before taking a break, same as driving a car. As far as distance covered, flew from Texas to Michigan to New Jersey to Florida and back to Texas to return the Warrior to
the base at Georgetown, Texas. That would have been in 1990. Visiting grandchildren. Good old PA28 161, N43885.
My own aircraft, Supercub GOFER, 150 hp taildragger with hook for pulling up gliders, flew that from Shenington to Alicante and back in February, 1991. Took 7 days altogether, and 33.6 hours flying time. Visited Shoreham, Le Touquet, Chartres, LeBlanc,St. Julien, Cahors, Albi, Perpignan, Gerona, Sabadell, Valencia, ALICANTE, Reus, Gerona, Perpignan, St. Julien, Le Blanc, Amboise Derrier, LeMans, Le Touquet, Lydd, Lasham, and home again (Edgehill). Took 7 days, got lost, weathered down in fog. All good experience.