A Perspective on being in the Guinness World Record Books

Yes, Ron is listed in numerous of the annual Guinness World Record Books

(see reference list link below), also in Guinness calendars, and periodically

on their web site since setting his first Around-the-World Speed Record

in 1994.

However, it must be kept in mind that Guinness is an extraordinarily

successful commercial publishing business that merely gathers a variety

of records, usually from both "official" and "un-official" record keeping

sources to very interestingly publish those selected records in their

Guinness World Record Books. Guinness has sold over 100 million copies

of their World Record Book in 37 languages in over 100 countries around

the world (the World Record in itself for copyrighted books).

But for aviation, the central repository and governing agency (since 1906)

for all "official" worldwide aviation records is the Federation Aeronautique

Internationale (FAI) in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FAI is where Guinness

gathers some information for "official" aviation records.

Aviation record setting is a sport, and like any sport it must have specific

rules and regulations if it is to be played fairly. FAI sets down those rules

and verifies that the record attempt is sanctioned in advance of the attempt,

and then that all rules were followed during the flight. They then conduct a

detailed post-flight audit by their staff, before recognizing a new record.

At the FAI, there are many different records for different classes of aircraft

(balloons, airships, airplanes, gliders, rotorcraft, etc.) with sub-classes based

on weight, propulsion (turbine or piston), and even gender of pilots.

Yet, for each major class of aircraft (i.e., Rotorcraft = Class E), only the one very

fastest record in the class, regardless of all the sub-classes, is described as the

"Absolute" speed record. From 1994 to 2008, Ron was the official "Absolute"

Record Holder of the Around the World Speed Record for rotorcraft. Ron still

still holds the Around the World (westbound) Speed Record, set in 1996. No

one else has attempted the more difficult westbound record in a rotorcraft.

In 1994, Ron, flying solo in his Bell 206B JetRanger, beat (by 5 days) the

trail-blazing first and only other helicopter "Absolute" Around the World Speed

Record holder, fellow-Texans, H. Ross Perot, Jr. and his co-pilot Jay Coburn,

who flew a Bell 206L-1 Around-the-World in 1982. Ross and Jay had held their

record for almost 12 years.

In 1996, Ron in his second trip, with his trusty co-pilot and friend, John Williams,

then handily beat his own 1994 JetRanger record by 7 more days while flying

serial number 2 of the new Bell 430 twin engine helicopter.

Certainly, records are indeed made to be broken. Ron jokingly explains the

reason that his records weren't been broken in over 14 years is: "there

must be a severe shortage of 'helicopter-flying' fools".

Ron further keeps his perspective on being in the Guinness World Records

Book by laughingly telling the details of first being in the Guinness Book in

1997. In 1996, Guinness asked Ron to write up some "Tips" for others who

might be thinking about attempting to set World Records. These "Tips" were

to be used in a "Tips" column in the next Guinness issue. Ron wrote the "Tips",

and they were published in the 1997 Guinness edition.

But, to give Ron some humbling perspective on being in the Guinness

Book, in the index on "Tips" on page 3 of the 1997 book, Ron's found his

record was listed between two other very important record setters as shown

here:

…

TALLEST HOUSE OF CARDS - Bryan Berg, page 96

>>>>>>>FASTEST HELICOPTER CIRCUMNAVIGATION - Ron Bower, page 110

LARGEST AIRSICKNESS BAG COLLECTION - Nick Vermeulen, page 113

…

Good job, Bryan and Nick!!!

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To see page references in various Guinness Books for Ron's records, click here

To see Ron's "official" records at the FAI website, Click here

To return to the Around the World page, Click here

To return to the Bower Helicopter Homepage, Click here

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