AgustaWestland Grand Owner Sets Speed Record

An aircraft owner from the Washington, D.C. area is claiming a speed record for a transcontinental flight from New York to Los Angeles with his new AgustaWestland Grand. Scott Kasprowicz, described as a businessman and community activist, acquired the Grand earlier this year and gained for it the distinctive registration of N1US. He reports that he and co-pilot Steve Sheik completed the transcontinental run on Feb. 16 with an all-inclusive flight time of 15 hr, 9 min and 10 sec. The record had been 19 hr, 16 sec; that was set in 1985. He reported the record "is validated, recorded, and maintained by the National Aeronautics Assn," the U.S. representative of the world keeper of aviation records, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. N1US departed Sheltair Aviation at New York's LaGuardia Airport and traveled 2,139.8 nm, making six fuel stops before landing at Landmark Aviation at Los Angeles International Airport. Since it is an international record, the official distance will be recorded as 3,962.8 km. The average airspeed was 141.3 kt. Kasprowicz reported 10-15-kt headwinds throughout the flight. For related news