One Whirlwind Trip Around the World

Before setting out to fly 24,000 miles, over about 20 countries, at a pace to challenge the speed record for circumnavigating the globe in a helicopter, it's best to inform your credit card company.

That was the lesson two Washington area pilots learned when a fraud alert was put on their account after they bought fuel in five countries in the first two days of their journey. An assistant in the United States cleared up the matter, and the duo completed the trip, landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Monday morning, 11 days, 7 hours and 2 minutes after taking off. Although trip details must be confirmed, the two men are widely believed to have set a record.

Around the world in 80 days? Jules Verne's got nothing on these guys.

"It's a remarkable achievement for these two pilots and for helicopter pilots around the world," said Jonathan Gaffney, president of the National Aeronautic Association, which certifies and compiles U.S. aviation records.

He said such feats are more common in airplanes, which generally fly at higher altitudes and can go farther without refueling.

"But flying around the world in a helicopter is a totally different animal," he said. "It showed a lot of guts. It is not something you see happen every day."

The trip was the brainchild of Scott Kasprowicz of Middleburg, a former Virginia deputy secretary of transportation and a former telecommunications executive, who footed the bill. Kasprowicz bought the AgustaWestland Grand copter a year ago in Italy and flew it home with his co-pilot, Steve Sheik, a full-time corporate pilot and a former flying instructor for the Maryland State Police.

In February, the pair flew to New York from Los Angeles, Kasprowicz said. That got him interested in something bigger, such as flying around the world.

"And if you're going to do it, why not try to break the record?" he said.

The team believes the trip broke speed records on the New York to London leg and for the entire trip, although they care more about the second.

Trip details must be confirmed before the honor is bestowed, but Kasprowicz said he and Sheik soundly beat the previous record of 17 days, 6 hours and 14 minutes, which was set in 1996.

Although pilots like to brag about elapsed time, the record is stated in terms of average speed for the trip. Kasprowicz and Sheik had an average speed of 137 kilometers per hour (about 85 mph), according to figures submitted to the NAA. The previous record was 91.6 kilometers per hour (about 57 mph).