We here at Jalopnik are insanely lucky to call what we do work. Obviously, being able to nerd out over cars is what makes it so cool, but arguably just as cool is getting to travel the world to go and commit said nerdery. With how much — and how far — we sometimes fly to see automotive goodies, we have a lot of time to work and think. On the way home from a trip in Europe, one of our writers saw the sun rise in Amsterdam, then 15 hours and a stop in Iceland later, watched it set in Nashville. That left him wondering: Is there a plane out there capable of outrunning Earth's rotation to stay in daylight for 24 hours?
Yes and no, because while the speeds are certainly feasible, when you're trying to outrun the clock, time likes to fight back. Let's break down what it takes to do a lap around the world under the sun, and the planes that can (or could) pull it off.
To find out what planes can pull this trip off, we first need to know what our speed target is in order to keep up with Sol. At the equator, the Earth's circumference is about 24,900 miles. Considering the sun does that trip once every 24 hours, we can divide that equator length by 24 and say that the Earth rotates with a surface speed of 1,037.5 miles per hour. Therefore, we'll need a plane that can go Mach 1.35 to keep up with the Sun.
The Concorde — last built in 1979 — might seem the knee-jerk reaction, but while it had the pace to keep up, it lacked the gas. During its record-setting circumnavigation in 1995, the plane had to stop and refuel six times, giving it a final lap time of 31 hours and 27 minutes. We need to find a solution that can both go the distance and go for speed. But what fits that description?
The SR-71 springs to mind as an answer. Not only could the Blackbird's two J58 engines drive it to speeds well north of Mach 3, it could push beyond its 3,600-mile range by doing one thing a commercial plane can't: refuel in flight. Being able to dock and gas up with tankers, a flight in 1971 saw the Blackbird fly over 15,000 miles in 10½ hours, resulting in an average speed of over 1,400 miles per hour.
Do that twice and we've got ourselves a sub-24-hour circumnavigation. But the Blackbird hasn't flown since 1999, so we need to find a more modern solution.
To do a 24-hour circumnavigation, we're looking for a plane that can sustain Mach 1.35 and be refueled in flight. We might have to wait for a new supersonic transport like Boom's "boomless" Overture to make a commercial trip at those speeds. And while plenty of modern fighters can hit those numbers, most need an afterburner, which can chug fuel like a fifth-year frat bro.
There is a solution, however, as a handful of modern fighters can "supercruise," breaking the sound barrier without lighting the cans. They are the Sukhoi SU-57, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
The Raptor has the fastest supercruise Speed, at Mach 1.5, but we're going French with the Rafale for a couple of reasons. First, because we've got back-seat variants allowing a lucky customer to ride along or take the stick, since our pilot will be pretty tuckered out. It can also fly farther than the Raptor without needing to refuel, with a range of 2,300 miles. And with a supercruise speed of Mach 1.4, it's got the perfect pace to keep Mother Gaia at bay.
All we need to do now is make sure we have 11 tankers on standby to refuel so we can stay on pace and on time. We'll also have to get approval from the thousands of towns and cities we'll be flying over at supersonic speeds, since the last thing we want is another Chicago Air and Water Show window-shattering incident on our hands.
If any military personnel who fly the Rafale are interested, don't hesitate to contact us. Our inboxes are always open.