Ron Bower is the current world-record hold of the Around-The-World (eastbound) speed
record in a helicopter. He set that record in the summer of 1994 in 24 days and 4 hours.
This summer, he will be the first to attempt a more difficult Around-The-World
(westbound) speed record in the new Bell 430 helicopter with an ambitious 16 day flight
plan.
Ron was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He started flying in college in an Army
program in 1962. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1963 and was commissioned in the US
Army. In 1964, he went through the Army's helicopter flight school, and in 1965 he flew
observation helicopters on the DMZ in Korea, and then flew Bell UH-1B "Huey
gunships" in Vietnam in 1965 - 1966.
In 1966, he moved to Austin and went through the MBA program at the University of Texas.
From 1967 to 1982, Ron worked for IBM, marketing large computers in Austin. In 1982, Ron
and two partners founded Austin Jet International. Ron is the president of Austin Jet
International.
Ron's flight experience includes over 7,000 flight hours, with over 3,500 hours in Bell
helicopters. He has been flying for 34 years with no accidents, incidents, or violations.
Ron has been married to Peggy for 33 years and has a son, Shannon (28), and daughter,
Sharron (25).
