Spirit of Texas and flown by H. Ross Perot Jr. and Jay Coburn completed the first circumnavigation of the world by helicopter on September 30, 1982. Their journey began 29 days, 3 hours, and 8 minutes earlier on September 1.

For their trip around the world, which began and ended in Fort Worth, Texas, Perot and Coburn flew a Long Ranger with full navigation equipment, survival gear, and emergency items. Also added were pop-out floats, and a 151-gallon auxiliary fuel tank in place of the rear seat. An additional five hours’ endurance was added to enable the Spirit of Texas to fly eight hours without refueling.

An Allison 250-C28B turbine engine performed flawlessly for 246.5 hours of flight, flying more than 10 hours a day, over open ocean, barren desert, and tropical rain forest. Average ground speed for the trip around the world was 117 mph. The Long Ranger is capable of a maximum speed of 150 mph.

The Spirit of Texas made its last landing at Andrews Air Force Base on November 15. 1982. From there, it was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum for display, and later it was donated by H. Ross Perot to become a permanent part of the National Aeronautical Collection.