Fred M. Coon of Victoria, Texas, and Dr. Mark Stolzberg, of Stony Brook, New York, tell ANN that they broke a United States Transcontinental air speed record October 16, 2003.

The pair broke the record in Coon's Grumman AA-5A Cheetah aircraft flying from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, to First Flight Airport in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 14 hours, 53 minutes and 32 seconds. They averaged a speed of 159.78 miles per hour during the trip.

The flight by Coon and Stolzberg represents the fastest recorded speed across the country by a piston-engine aircraft weighing between 1,102 and 2,205 pounds, a significant portion of the general aviation fleet. To qualify as a 'Transcontinental' record, the start and finish points must be within 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) from the ocean shorelines.

En route across the country, they had to make two refueling stops in Dalhart, Texas and Murray, Kentucky, during which the elapsed time continued to run. In addition to the transcontinental record, the pair broke the record for the fastest speed between Santa Ana and Kitty Hawk.

The previous record was set on July 18, 2003, by pilots Assaf Stoler and Laksen Sirimanne, who made the flight in Stoler's Diamond DA40 Diamondstar in 17 hours 23 minutes and 45 seconds, at an average speed of 136.79 mph.

NAA will recognize the pair at its Spring Awards event, a ceremony celebrating the achievements of its record-setting and award-winning members. The National Aeronautic Association, the organization charged with overseeing and certifying aviation records in the United States, approved this record on December 17, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first successful powered flights in North Carolina. The record is awaiting approval by the FAI, the organization that oversees all aviation and space records throughout the world.

NAA is a non-profit, membership organization devoted to fostering opportunities to participate fully in aviation activities and to promoting public understanding of the importance of aviation and space flight to the United States.

FMI: www.fai.org