Around the World Record in a Helicopter

Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik flew a helicopter around the world in 13 days, breaking the record for helicopter speed. The previous fastest round-the-world flight was 17 days, set in 1996. Kasprowicz and Sheik completed their journey by landing in New York yesterday.

The first week went off without a hitch. Kasprowicz and Sheik made it from New York to London in a stunning 40 hours and 41 minutes, shattering the previous record by a whopping 35 hours. Europe was a piece of cake, but Russia -- as they expected -- was a bear.

They arrived on the 13th, but construction at one airport and a fuel shortage at another cost them almost a full day. Things went from bad to worse after taking off from the Siberian city of Magadan -- the oil temperature in one of the copter's two engines rose so high Kasprowicz had to shut it down to avert crippling damage. They finally sorted things out with some help from local mechanics, but they lost still more precious time.

The route took the pilots through 15 countries. http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/08/helicopter.html

(image credit: Grand Adventure 2008)