The Crew · The Grand Adventure

The crew

Two pilots flew the aircraft. A command center in Virginia, which the crew called the GACC, ran the fuel, the permits, the Russian authorities and, on at least one occasion, an argument with a credit card company.

two pilots in flight suits in a hangar in front of N1US

Kasprowicz and Sheik flew every leg of the record between them, with no relief crew and nowhere to sleep.

The two who flew it

E. “Scott” Kasprowicz

Pilot

A pilot for over thirty years by 2008, flying fixed wing before nearly eight years in his own Bell 407. He founded TEXEL Corporation and ran it for twenty years, from two people working from home to more than five hundred employees. Inc. ranked it 95th in the country’s five hundred fastest growing companies in 1988.

Most recently before the flight he had served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia, responsible for all rail and aviation in the state.

Steve Sheik

Co-pilot · Director of Flight Operations

Airline Transport Pilot with instructor and instrument instructor ratings, in aviation since 1992. He came to ROTOR1US from the Maryland State Police, where he trained crews for medevac, search and rescue and law enforcement.

In 2007 he and Kasprowicz took the transcontinental helicopter record from New York to Los Angeles in the same aircraft, beating the old mark by nearly four hours.

The half of the record that never left Virginia

Harlan Hamlin

Ground operations and flight logistics. Instrument and multi engine rated with over 5,000 hours, and president of TracPlus USA. When Russian fuel became the obstacle that would cost them the schedule, it was the command center that flew fuel in from Alaska instead.

Natalia Nizker

Russian operations. A native of Saratov, multilingual, a graduate of Saratov State University in linguistics. She handled the entire Russian ground operation: 19 fuel stops, 4 overnight stops, 9 time zones, and the official who had to be aboard at all times.

Donna Hickman

Logistics and administration. A Northern Virginian with a background in finance and bank management, handling administration, ground logistics and the finances of the attempt.

Bruce Labovitz

Business and brand. A long time friend of Kasprowicz, the two having first worked together on a voice over IP start up in 1999. Outside it he was Chief Financial Officer of Comstock Homebuilding.

Two glass record trophies held up in front of a black helicopter — The two trophies the flight was awarded.

Middleburg, Virginia, from the air, the town inside its surrounding farmland — Middleburg, Virginia. The command center ran the record from here.

Saratov on the Volga, the Holy Trinity Cathedral above the city — Saratov, Natalia Nizker’s home city, and the language that opened Russian airspace.

From the command center

“We had to explain to the Credit Card company how a card could be in so many countries on the one day.”

Donna Hickman · 9 August 2008

“The guys are running on pure adrenalin.”

The command center · 8 August 2008

“Soon we will pick up our interpreter for our flight over Russia.”

From the aircraft · 10 August 2008