11-Day Flight Beats Previous Attempt By Nearly Six Days
They did it! Pilots Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik succeeded
in flying around the world in a helicopter in only 11 days, seven
hours and two minutes -- setting a new world speed record.
The pilots broke the current record by almost six days, with an
average speed of 74 knots over the entire 11 days while regularly
flying at 160 knots between refueling points. The record of the
flight will be submitted to the National Aeronautic Association for
ratification.
Kasprowicz and Shiek flew the former's AgustaWestland Grand
helicopter covering 18 countries, 24 time zones, 49 states, 78 fuel
stops and almost 21,000 nautical miles in less than 12 days. As ANN reported, the two also
set a New York to London speed record, flying that leg of the trip
in just over 40 hours and breaking the old record by 35 hours.
The aviation duo arrived at New York's LaGuardia Airport Monday
morning, bringing to a close their "Grand Adventure" around the
world.
"We are so glad to be back home. This has been the trip of a
lifetime and is a remarkable achievement for all of us. We had some
challenging situations, especially in Russia and the planning and
coordination at each control point was key to our success," said
Kasprowicz after landing at LaGuardia. "The support we received
from AgustaWestland around the world was unprecedented and their
employees went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure every
detail was taken care of. We pushed the aircraft to its limit and
this trip is a true testament to the Grand's superior
performance."
Unlike previous flights to break the world helicopter speed
record, Kasprowicz performed this mission in a straight,
factory-standard Grand -- with no mission-specific modifications or
additional fuel tanks added to improve the aircraft's
performance.
"Congratulations to Scott Kasprowicz, Steve Sheik and the
support team from everyone at AgustaWestland for setting an
outstanding new around-the-world flight record," said Renzo
Lunardi, Senior Vice President Commercial Business of
AgustaWestland. "We have watched with amazement the progress of
N1US around the globe and we are delighted that the AgustaWestland
Grand performed as well as the crew -- averaging around 2,000 miles
per day is an incredible feat. I am sure this is a record which
will stand for many years."
During their 11-day journey, Kasprowicz -- who is also the
former Deputy Secretary of Transportation of Virginia -- and
co-pilot Sheik traveled eastbound across the Atlantic into Europe
via Greenland, traversed western and eastern Europe into Russia,
crossed 11 time zones in Russia, returned to North America over the
Bering Strait crossing the US and returning to New York City.