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| 26-Year-Old Pilot Sets Around-the-World Speed Record | May '09 |
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| By Jack Elliott |
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At 8:44 a.m. on April 15, 2009, 26-year-old Jared Isaacman of Washington Township, N.J., landed a Cessna CJ2 at Morristown (N.J.) Airport, breaking an around-the world speed record for light jets which had stood for 18 years. He didn't just break the record, he smashed it. The old record for a light jet was 82 hours. Isaacman and his copilot, Doug Demko, of Allentown, Pa., shaved about 20 hours off the old record.
They weren't flying just to break a record. They made the flight to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey, which grants wishes to children with serious illnesses.
Isaacman is a multi-millionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist. He originally attempted to break the record and raise money for Make-A-Wish in 2008, accomplishing half his goal. He raised more than $60,000 for the charity, but because of unexpected roadblocks, he did not come home with the round-the-world record, although they did set 17 records during the course of the flight.
Last year, Isaacman and Demko learned many lessons from their failed attempts. They were 13 hours ahead of schedule when they landed in Pakistan, one-third of the way around the world. When they prepared to take off for their next stop in India, they were denied permission to land because it was a holiday there.
They made arrangements in advance for their stop, and all seemed in order until they got ready to depart. Airliners were being serviced by the same ground crews that would assist them. They argued with the authorities, offering to pay more than the normal fees, all to no avail. Finally, the men requested an over-flight permit so they could land in Sri Lanka—no country denied them that.
The Indian authorities said that if they entered Indian airspace, jet fighters would be sent to intercept them. They were on the ground for 10 hours, stymied with no way to break the record.
Isaacman was determined. He decided to go to Qatar and begin again. They would start and end the trip in Qatar. This time India granted them permission to land. But because of the amount of paperwork required, they were delayed for two and a half hours. This created a problem.
They were scheduled to make two stops in Japan, one in Okinawa and one in northern Japan. The airports in Japan were not operational 24 hours a day. That meant they had to get in by a certain time or they couldn't land. They made it to Okinawa, but because of the delay in India, they couldn't make it to the airport in northern Japan before it closed and were stuck in Okinawa for more than nine hours. That was enough to keep them from breaking the record—they missed it by one hour.
But Isaacman would not give up until he achieved his goal. He carefully planned this year's trip to only land at airports where they were assured a quick turnaround. They made 14 stops on the way with an average refueling time of 35 minutes. They flew the course in four-hour legs. Each pilot took three legs in a row, then slept for three legs. The only exception was in the event of an instrument landing, in which case both pilots would be at the controls. That occurred only once at their first stop in St. John's, Newfoundland.
During their 2009 attempt, they encountered only one problem. On descent into the Philippines, the pressurization system malfunctioned. Since they were descending, it was not a problem. But they were worried that if the system didn't work they would have to scratch the trip—not a comforting thought. They called their mechanics in the States, who thought the problem was caused by condensation since they had been flying in some very humid areas. If the jet cooled off during turnaround, it would probably work fine again. The mechanics were right. It worked fine when they took off, and they never had another problem.
Two companies, Colt International and Sky Connect, LLC, sponsored their record-breaking flight by contributing their services. Colt provided flight support services, including flight planning, ground handling arrangements, over-flight and landing permits, airport slots, flight following, and weather and fuel services. Sky Connect provided satellite-based voice, tracking and data systems.
As of publication, the final figures were not available, but they brought in more than twice as much for Make-A-Wish this year than they did last year (estimated to be over $60,000).
Isaacman agreed to match all contributions up to $20,000. He also agreed to contribute $5,000 for each hour they knocked off the old record. They broke the old record by almost 20 hours, which adds up to $110,000, plus the donations and matching funds.
Donations to the Make-A-Wish Fund are still coming in.
You can give by calling 1-800-252-9474 or visiting www.wishnj.org.
About Jared Isaacman
Isaacman is a high school drop-out. He had hoped to go to college, but while he was in high school, he got a job with a credit card firm. After six months, he decided he could do a better job of running such a company. So at just 16, he founded United Bank Card, Inc., in the basement of his parents' home.
Today the company handles merchant accounts for more than 100,000 locations and processes in excess of $8 billion in sales annually.
The company provides processing services for top credit card companies including Visa, MasterCard and American Express. While running the company, Isaacman obtained his high school equivalency diploma. He is also a part owner of 26 North Aviation, a company offering charter services for jets. Their fleet consists of four Cessna jets, two Beech jets, and two Falcons. A third company he owns is an ATM machine processor, United Cash Solutions, which offers a variety of ATM services to accommodate any business needs.
Isaacman has always been interested in aviation. Three years ago, he began taking flying lessons at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pa. He acquired a commercial license with instrument and twin-engine ratings. He is also type rated in three Cessna jets. His copilot, Doug Demko, is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He holds an Air Transport Pilot rating and is type rated in several Cessna jets and in the Gulfstream II and III.
Remember the names Jared Isaacman and Douglas Demko. You haven't heard the last of them!
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