Friendship One was a successful attempt at beating the round-the-world air speed record.
The flight was conducted from January 29 to January 30, 1988. It was operated by a Boeing 747SP owned by United Airlines, N147UA. A charitable foundation, the Friendship Foundation, was established and all money went to children's charities. A ticket on the flight cost USD $5,000, and, in total, the flight raised more than $500,000 for children. A total of 141 passengers were on board, including Neil Armstrong and Bill Lear's widow, Moya.
The old speed record of 45 hours, 25 minutes, and 55 seconds was set by a Gulfstream III business jet, and Friendship One captain Clay Lacy hoped to beat that by at least 6 hours. The flight followed a 23,125-mile route from Seattle, Washington to Athens, Taipei, and back to Seattle. It completed the trip in just 36 hours, 54 minutes, 15 seconds. Unfortunately, it was beaten less than a month later by a Gulfstream IV, which clocked 36 hours, 8 minutes. The Friendship One flight was sponsored by United Airlines, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Volkswagen, and Olympic Airlines.