Effective Augusts 6, 2014
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Most families expose their young children to the wonders of transportation. Young boys play for hours with their set of Matchbox cars and trucks. Family outings on train rides become wonderful childhood memories. Family trips to marinas inspire dreams of Robinson Crusoe and adventure. Some lucky children who live near airports are indulged with family trips to watch planes take off and land.
At eight years old and attending third grade in Lawrenceville, NJ, Steve Kapur found his lifetime passion when his family took him to JFK Airport to visit with his uncle. His uncle, a pilot for Air India, flew 707’s between London and New York, as well as between London and Bombay (aka Mumbai) India. What happened that year in third grade — with family and outside of school — left Steve committed to study, years of practice, dedication and a lifetime commitment to hard work and excellence.
That year, Steve’s uncle took Steve to the 707 aircraft and up on the flight deck, let him sit in the cockpit and went through the 707 checklist with him. Steve’s imagination was expanded beyond the cars, trucks, trains, and boats. The sky became the playground of his dreams. Now, as a 15-year veteran of the GEICO Skytypers, Steve is living his dream. It took many sacrifices and a deep commitment, flying three times a week while training for his private flight license and then stretching further to earn his Instrument Rating. More training and sacrifice earned Steve a commercial license. And more hard work to learn and excel at Formation Flying.
That third grade dream has fully developed and gave Steve a lifetime full of friends and experiences, and a deep appreciation for the many generations of pilots. Among the GEICO Skytypers team, Steve has flown with pilots from World War II, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan. “Aviation is glue that binds the generations,” he tells us.
Steve Kapur will be performing in the Atlantic City Air Show along with the entire GEICO Skytypers team of eight pilots. The air show is one of the largest in the United States and expected to attract nearly one million spectators on rooftops, on the sand, on the boardwalk, in boats, in bleachers, and around the community – a spectacular attendance, especially for a midweek show.
Over the water air shows are more challenging than over land shows. With little in the way of landmarks, the GEICO pilots must rely on judgment supported by their GPS equipment to safely achieve their precision formation flying. And since they fly in cockpits fully exposed to the sun, eliminating glare and reflection on their GPS devices is essential.
“There is a special anti reflective film I use on my instrumentation from NuShield called DayVue. The film gives me better visual acuity and protects my equipment from scratches,” Steve explains.
The NuShield DayVue films are an aftermarket product that adheres to the GPS screens used in cars, boats and planes and on any device where sun glare makes it hard to see the screen, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
The GEICO Skytypers fly vintage World War II “pilot maker” training planes call the SNJ, and also known as the T-6 Texan or the Harvard. The plane is a vintage craft upgraded with the latest and best navigation equipment.
Steve’s story has become inspiration to families all over the United States with young children. There is no better gift a parent can give to a child than the spark of a dream that may mature into lifelong inspiration, dedication and fulfillment.
NuShield Inc., based in Bensalem, PA, has been the leading provider of screen protectors for LCD touch screens used in electronic devices since 1998 and is sold directly to consumers on its website or through distributors worldwide.