Fossett/RTW
Steve Fossett attempted
his fourth around-the-world by balloon flight when his balloon Solo Spirit
lifted off from Mendoza, Argentina Friday evening, August 7. The only other
attempt to date in the Southern Hemisphere was John Petrehn's failed launch
from the same city in 1988.
Fossett had a picture perfect evening launch. Bob Rice, meteorologist, said, "From a weather standpoint, it was good enough to get the balloon up in the air. So that's a good first step."
Early in the flight Fossett had a problem with a fuel line resulting in an onboard fire. Although slightly burned, Fossett was able to continue the flight.
The first major obstacle of the flight was trying to maneuver through a divergence zone over the Indian Ocean. This situation came about from the interaction between high pressure to the northwest and low pressure to the southwest. Bob Rice threaded a fine needle by controlling Steve Fossett's altitude over a 36 hours time period to get the balloon past this area and headed toward southwestern Australia.
By Saturday morning Fossett had reached the Australian coast line approximately 250 miles north of Perth. It was the first land he had seen since leaving Argentina. He had also broken his own distance record when he passed 10,400.4 statute miles at approximately 4:40 a.m. CDT.
Fossett was originally expected to leave the Australian continent around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Instead he traveled very quickly across the continent and departed the East coast early Sunday morning.
Fossett's oxygen supply by now had become an issue of concern. But not as big a concern as his next challenge. 500 miles off the Australian coast were a line of thunderstorms. Rice advised Fossett of this line and said that there was no way to avoid them.
Fossett tried to fly over the top of the thunderstorms. In an interview with an Australian reported while still at sea Fossett said, "There was a line of thunderstorms last night, and I thought I had sufficient altitude to go over the top, but I got drawn down into one, and the hail was coming out of it and it cooled off my balloon and I went down inside the thunderstorm and the balloon ruptured."
The ride down was a harrowing experience for Fossett. "Tremendous sheets of hail just flooding me and my greatest descent rate on my altimeter was 2,500 feet a minute and the altimeter was pegged all the way down.
"I was very surprised. I thought [the landing in water] would kill me. And just the last 30 seconds I cut away a lot of tanks. Maybe I gave the balloon a little bit of lift as I hit the water; then the capsule was immediately pulled underwater and filled with water."
Fossett had to abandon the capsule and climb into his life raft. A few hours later he was picked up by Atlanta, a private 60 foot two-masted ketch and later transferred to a New Zealand navy tanker, which transported him to Townsville, Australia.
More on Fossett's flight in a later issue of Balloon Life.
In late breaking news Fossett has joined the Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand Virgin Challenger team as the third flight team member.
Elder Statesman
On October 14, 1998, Don Piccard,
will be awarded the National Aeronautic Association's Elder Statesman
of Aviation award. The ceremony will take place during a noon luncheon
in Washington, CD at the Capital Hilton. Six other honorees include John
R. Alison, Walter J. Boyne, Col Charles E. McGree, USAF (Ret.), George W.
Putnam, Claire Lee Walters, and John F. Zugschwert.
Don Piccard becomes the first pure balloonist to be awarded this great honor. His Elder Statesman citation reads:
"The acknowledged `father' of modern hot air ballooning and co-founder of the Balloon Federation of America, Don Piccard's interest in ballooning began in 1933 when he flew in a gas balloon with his mother, Jeannette Ridlon Piccard. For over 50 years, he has concentrated his enthusiasm and energy in ballooning and he is being honored for his lifelong achievements in aeronautics, his enthusiastic promotion and advancement of gas and hot air ballooning, and his memorable contributions to aviation and the science of aerostation."
For more on Don Piccard see Balloonmeister.
NAA
Donald J. Koranda has joined the staff of the National Aeronautic Association as its 37th President and CEO.
Wesley L. McDonald, Chairman of the Board, upon making the announcement said, "We are very pleased to have found someone of Don's caliber to lead our association into the 21st century. With his background in association management, focus on membership value, and enthusiasm for NAA's mission, he is the right person to lead NAA into the future."
Koranda comes to NAA with a broad background in aviation as an association manager, aviation educator, and pilot. He was previously Vice President in charge of training for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, responsible for conducting a nationwide series of aviation safety seminars and Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics for pilots and instructors. Prior to that, he was in charge of the membership services division of AOPA and served on the Board of the Seaplane Pilots Association.
"I'm thrilled at being offered this challenging position," said Koranda. "The opportunity it affords is particularly exciting given the industry wide effort to promote new pilots and expand the awareness and the importance of aviation in our daily lives. This is right in line with NAA's mission of advancing the art, sport, and science of aviation and space flight."
FAI
The Fédération Aéronautic Internationale has ratified the AX-4 (hot air balloon) distance record of Pat Harwell, Shreveport, Louisiana. Harwell flew his 31,000 cu. ft. balloon 224.84 km (140 miles) this past March (A Black Tie Affair, April, 98) from Shreveport to Raley, Louisiana. The previous record of 209.93 km was held by Coy Foster set in March, 1986.
The FAI has received the following claims for world records by Steve Fossett on his recent around-the-world attempt. Fossett has submitted his claim for the absolute record in free balloons (class A) and the mixed balloons (class AM-13) for distance. Fossett's claim is for a performance of 22,975 km (14,290 miles). He launched from Mendoza, Argentina and "landed" near Chesterfield Islands east of Australia. The flight took place from August 7 to the 16. Fossett holds the current record with a distance of 16,673.81 km set in January 1997 during his second around-the-world flight attempt. Fossett was flying a Cameron R-450 (450 cubic feet) Roziere balloon.
China Overflight Permission
Steve Fossett's recent attempt to fly a balloon around-the-world in the Southern Hemisphere was in large part due to his frustration with trying to gain political overflight clearance from a number of countries in his flight path in the Northern Hemisphere. The FAI has announced that China has provided guidelines for gaining overflight permission. The following guidelines have been published by the FAI.
On several recent occasions, sporting pilots have encountered difficulties in obtaining overflight permissions for the People's Republic of China. These difficulties were usually caused by procedural irregularities.
We have now received helpful advice from the Aero Sports Federation of China on the proper procedure to follow:
1. Any foreigner wishing to fly through Chinese airspace must, in the first instance, apply for permission to the Chinese Embassy in his or her country of origin. The Embassy will then pass the request to the CAAC, which is the body that controls Chinese airspace.
2. The application will be handled more quickly if a completed Flight Plan is attached to the request for overflight permission.
3. If, after this procedure has been followed, there are undue delays, or difficulties are encountered, the Aero Sports Federation of China (our FAI Member organization) will be pleased to help. But please do not contact them until you have gone through the proper procedure and this has failed to deliver results.
4. Remember, no application will be approved unless it has been processed through the appropriate Chinese embassy!
Max Bishop, FAI Secretary General
Chase Commander Scout
Renaissance Balloons, Brighton, Michigan has unveiled the all-new Chase Commander Scout. The Scout, with a sleek, aerodynamic body style, joins the 1999 line of Chase Commanders, now in its 20 year of production.
Built on the same rugged chassis as its big brother, the Chase Commander, the Scout is an entry level offering designed to appeal to price-conscious consumers. This new model makes the comfort and amenities of the legendary Chase Commander available at a cost comparable to custom van and trailer combinations. While the original Chase Commander is all-steel construction, built to federal shuttle bus specifications, the Scout is built to less costly recreational vehicle standards. Unlike other RV-type chase vehicles available, the Chase Commander Scout features an all-aluminum welded structure where others use only wood.
While retaining most of the features of the original Chase Commander, the Scout is available at a substantial savings over a comparable size Chase Commander model. With three different sizes to choose from (23, 26, and 29 feet), the all-new 1999 Chase Commander Scout starts at $49,900.00.
For additional information, contact Renaissance Balloons, Inc., 12625 E Grand River, Brighton, MI 48116, or call 810-229-7400, or visit their web site http://www.renaissanceballoons.com/.
Tommy Gate
Tommy Gate Company, a division of Woodbine Manufacturing Company and manufacturer of the TOMMYLIFT® hydraulic lift gate, has just completely revamped its web site http://www.tommygate.com/.
The pages contain the most up-to-date information on the company's product offerings and have a vibrant, new "look." New items, like the extruded aluminum platform, are highlighted with colorful photos and the traditional product line is presented in a reader-friendly format, with photos and detailed information available at your fingertips.
If you will attending the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October, look for the TommyGate & Clark Truck Equipment balloon. They will be located on the Northeast side of the field.
For more information about TommyGate lift gates visit their web site http://www.tommygate.com/ or call 602-955-2144.
Junior Balloonists
Tina Reeves, chair of the Balloon Federation of America Junior Balloonist program, announced that five winners have been selected from entries received for the KAIBF 98 Apprenticeship in Ballooning Essay Contest.
Each of the winning entries in the essay contest receives a package that includes round trip airfare, room and board (four days), pilot jacket, a special uniform, pilot pack to include $100 in Fiesta Bucks, and an educational program.
KAIBF was the major sponsor of this program for youth. Winners are: Ross Green, Lincoln, Illinois; James Phelan, Lincoln, Illinois; Jesse Satterlee, Boise, Idaho; Bridget Mayer, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Rosemary Tyszka, California City, California.
Tina says, "If you attend Fiesta and see a KAIBF Board member, thank them for sponsoring this great program for the Jr. Balloonists."
