Andrew Jenkins, age 16, of Burlington, Vt., for his question:

WHO WAS THE FIRST TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD?

Wiley Post, a pioneer American high altitude pilot, was the first man to fly around the world. He made his famous flight in July 1931 with navigator Charles Gatty.

The flight of 15,474 miles took eight days, 15 hours and 51 minutes.

Post was born on a farm near Grand Saline, Texas, in 1899. When he was 16 he went to Kansas City to learn to be a mechanic. Sometimes he worked in oil fields, and in 1924 he lost an eye as a result of an oil field accident. A patch covering his left eye became his trademark.

Post used the money he received as compensation for his lost eye to buy his first airplane. He became a pilot and set many intercity speed records in the Winnie Mae, an advanced airplane for its time.

Post also helped prove that high altitude flight was possible.

An airplane crash in Alaska in 1935 took the life of Post and his passenger, the famous humorist Will Rogers.