Mr. Hart had a stroke in June 1997 that affected his
mobility, speech, and memory. Unable to walk without a walker, he depended on
a computer and the Internet as his "Window to the World." In ARMCHAIR ADVENTURES©
he shares his cyber travels with us. Chapters were once added as news broke
about the balloon race.
Jay passed away on December 26, 2002, shortly after
1:30am Central Time. Since his stroke in 1997, his health had been deteriorating.
Several months before his death, he spent fewer and fewer hours on his computer.
Jay will be forever remembered as a beloved Musician, Artist and Lover of Giant
Balloons. Please keep his wife, Marie, and family in your prayers.
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Armchair Adventures - Index
Chapter One ... 4/28/98 ... Introduction To RTW ('Round the World) Ballooning. Kevin Uliassi's 1st try in the J.Renee. Steve Fossett's Trip to Russia. Global Hilton's demise. Breitling to Burma. Dymocks Flyer waiting in Australia. Virgin Global Challenger looking for lift-off weather in Morocco. Chapter Two ... 5/10/98 ... How the balloons work & some meteorology. More on Fossett's Russian trip and future plans. Alex Ritchie of Virgin Team critically injured when parachute fails to open in practice jump. Million Dollar prize and Cup announced by Budweiser. Chapter Three ... 5/25/98 ... Dymocks Flyer becomes Team Re/Max. More on Fossett plans. Chapter Four ... 6/18/98 ... Review of various team plans. Chapter Five ... 7/10/98 ... Two new entrants to RTW race. Spirit of Peace balloon with Jacques Soukup, Mark Sullivan & Crispin Williams will fly from Florida. The Global Conqueror with Gerrit Coetzee, Terry Adams & Kevin Roberson is based in South Africa. Chapter Six ... 8/7/98 ... Steve Fossett in the Solo Spirit Balloon lifted off from Argentina for another try. The Global Hilton website is gone. Chapter Seven ... 9/2/98 ... Report on Steve Fossett's thrilling 15,202 mile flight now down in the Coral Sea between New Zealand & Australia. Chapter Eight ... 9/10/98 ... Fossett to join Branson & Lindstrand in Virgin Global Challenger atrempt. Re/Max revitalizes website. Dick Rutan and Dave Melton back in race with World Quest balloon replacing Global Hilton but looking for sponsor. Chapter Nine ... 11/2/98 ... Did guest column for Virgin Global Challenger website. They announced trials of new Virgin balloon near Reno by Fossett & Lindstrand. South Africa's Global Conqueror still looking for sponsor. New Breitling website shows new 2 man team & will use propane instead of kerosene. Andy Elson checks in with new Cable & Wireless entry. Chapter Ten ... 11/25/98 ... Virgin Global Challenger becomes ICO Global Challenge with Branson, Fossett & Lindstrand. New website. Global Conqueror still looking for sponsor. Breitling announces contest for viewers. Andy Elson's Cable & Wireless ready to launch from Southern Spain. Uliassi has new envelope. Chapter Eleven ... 12/7/98 ... Pearl Harbor Day 57 years later. Documentary films star RTW teams. Long list of other interesting websites. Chapter Twelve ... 1/4/99 ... The thrilling voyage of the ICO Global Challenge from Morocco to Hawaii included a Chinese air space invasion. Others still waiting for weather and/or funding. Chapter Thirteen ... 1/19/99 ... Re/Max cuts back to two pilots amid big flap. Southern hemisphere trips non-political. Chapter Fourteen ... 2/15/99 ... Recap to date. Some new concepts. World Quest and Global Conqueror still need funding. Branson, Fossett & Lindstrand looking at Southern Hemisphere possibilities. Uliassi still waiting for better WX and overfly permissions. Spirit of Peace gives up for the season and looks toward a Southern Hemisphere route Chapter Fifteen ... 4/17/99 ... Breitling Orbiter 3 with Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones are successful! Complete recap of flight including fact that Chinese overfly permission had expired but they renewed it at the last minute. Chapter Sixteen ... 11/1/99 ... Discussion on solo vs. team effort. Indispensable role of meteorologists. Chapter Seventeen ... 4/16/00 ... Uliassi goes over halfway. Complete recap of solo flight. Expectations for the future of RTW ballooning. Chapter Eighteen ... 4/30/01 ... Fossett to try again in the Southern Hemisphere. Solo with a bigger balloon and more burners. . . Will he beat out Kevin Uliassi in being the first one to do it alone in an open gondola? Chapter Nineteen ... 8/23/01 ... Steve Fossett tries solo from NW Australia ... switches from Kalgooorlie to Northam for launch ... lifts off 6:06 AM local time, August 4th ... has computer and antenna problems ... loses direct contact with Mission Control for 5 days ... creeps across Pacific ... runs into BAD weather as he crosses Andes ... Lands in Bake, Brazil to avoid odds-on fatality in nasty nest of multiple thunderstorms. He's bruised, but OK. Index of links to other RTW websites. Message Board ... Live message board lets you interact with other people who visit this site! |