London, Aug. 12: The log entry by mission control as Norman Surplus attempted to circumnavigate the globe in his tiny gyrocopter was succinct: "Friday, April 23, 2010 Norman arrived safely Kolkata, India."
However, as Norman's blog says, "the trip was originally expected to take approximately 115 days or four months, and cover over 27,000 miles/43,000 kilometres with stop offs in 26 countries."
In the event, the journey, beset by all manner of hurdles, including refusal by Russia to allow him to traverse its airspace, has taken Norman over five years.
But yesterday, Norman completed the very last leg of his epic journey when he landed his gyrocopter safely on a cricket pitch in his home town of Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland, from where he set off way back in March 2010.
There to greet him were his relieved wife Celia, son Felix and daughter Petra, plus a large welcoming party.
The reason why brave Norman began the journey in the first place when he was 47 years old - he is now 52 - is that he been trying to raise money for a cancer charity.
On the face of it, he was a fit and active man, who engaged in mountaineering, climbing, skiing, cycling, canoeing, sailing, surfing and scuba diving. But then in 2003 at the age of 40, he was diagnosed with an advanced stage of bowel cancer. That is when he decided he would "embrace life even more intensely than before" and fly round the world in a gyrocopter - the precursor of the helicopter.
This kind of light aircraft has been seen in a James Bond film, whose title Norman found especially inspiring - You Only Live Twice. On landing yesterday, his message was simple - to the millions who suffer from the disease, he indicated there is life after cancer. "There is hope after surgery and chemotherapy and it is a very personal journey I have been on but I have managed to involve the whole world," he said.
In 2010, Norman flew through 18 countries in Europe, West Asia and east across Asia to Japan where the gyrocopter was put into storage for three years. In September 2014, the machine was shipped to McMinnville Oregon in the US where it was put on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.
Norman's blog shows he crossed India from west to east and received a warm welcome plus expert servicing everywhere. On Sunday, April 18, 2010, he landed at Ahmedabad at 11.14 (IST). The following day he landed at Nagpur at 13.50 (IST) where the temperature was a "blistering 47C". On April 20, he made Raipur at 8.37 (IST).
April 21 was a much needed rest day.
On April 22, he landed at Jamshedpur at 12.20 (IST), and at Calcutta the next day, before heading out to Bangladesh and Myanmar.
In June this year, Norman once again took to the skies flying from Portland Oregon to Portland Maine. From there he travelled into Canada, including covering hundreds of miles of pristine forest, out to sea to Greenland and around the island's southern shores before hopping to Iceland.
Then the route took in the Faroe Islands, Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides and home, accompanied by a convoy of fellow gyrocopters - this was meant to recreate the Wagneresque Ride of the Valkyries type scene reminiscent of the 1979 Vietnam movie, Apocalypse Now.
Norman's experience was uplifting in another sense - he discovered the world was united by a common humanity.
"The generosity of people and humanity around the world, every country... I turned up in this little aircraft and every country said that guy needs help and they gave me help," remarked Norman. "You could not have done it without the assistance of the local people... every country was the same, people are just the same around the world."