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THE GREAT NON-STOP AROUND THE WORLD BALLOON RACE
Chapter Seventeen - April 16, 2000 When your heart is set on something and your wife, parents & friends are supportive it's capable of accomplishment if all the other factors line up. I speak with the benefit of much experience. This is the 38th anniversary of my 39th birthday. So it was with Kevin Uliassi, 36, the J.Renee balloon and a solo balloon non-stop trip around the world. Sure, the Breitling Orbiter 3 with Picard and Jones had already done it. They walked off with Budweiser's Million bucks, trophy, and the honor and glory of being first but ... they had almost unlimited resources and a multi-million dollar team backing them. a team effort in a controlled atmosphere gondola ... plus the resources of an entire nation's (Switzerland) meteorologists. They faced all the dangers and bravely overcame them. Kevin had, and still has, a burning desire to do it alone. In an open capsule. Toward the end of October, 1999 he announced he was again ready to go for it in an unpressurized, open gondola. The balloon, equipment, and supplies awaited only the pilot, proper weather and sufficient finances. It all came together in the new Century On Monday, February 21, 2000, Marie and I drove again to a spot overlooking the Nimtz Quarry.in Loves Park. Illinois. We were parked just a few feet from the spot where we watched Kevin lift off New Years Eve, 1997.. It was quite a bit warmer. So much so that the launch was delayed for hours by water created by melting ice and snow running down the quarry walls onto the launchpad. Finally at 10 minutes to 1 AM on Tuesday, the 22nd, the balloon silently lifted into the night. The prayers of millions for a safe and successful journey went with it. About 8 hours later the J.Renee was reported to be at 19,400 feet crossing the Ohio River in West Virginia headed East Southeast. It was headed out over the Atlantic Ocean at 6 AM the following morning. Kevin reported comfortable cabin temperatures despite below zero outside, His redesigned cabin heater recycled heat from the hot air balloon burners for maximum efficiency. The next day brought extremely slow progress which he likened to "watching paint dry." Then he picked up speed for a while but had to cut back altitude and speed to avoid being blown back to South America.. It was discouraging but by Saturday, 26 February he was halfway across the Atlantic. Then the Jet Stream he had been riding decided to split and he had to climb to 28,300' to find the fork that led East toward Africa. Since it was night he no longer had the sun to keep the helium expanded. He vented off some of his ample excess fuel to lose weight and gain altitude. Sensors showed that he was rising to his target altitude. The next day, the 29th, he made it over the African coast at Mauritania and on into Mali airspace.. Most of the African countries in the balloon's path are French speaking. Volunteer French teachers from the Chicago Heights area school system were talking to the air controllers to ease Kevin's flyover. By the 1st of March Kevin and the balloon were 29,300 feet over Libya ... going strong at 61 MPH with Iran next up. His website was exceeding a million hits and more than 30 e-mails a day. The balloon picked up speed over Saudi Arabia to more than 90 mph. Unexpected thunderstorms over Egypt severely tested the balloon design, but it came through with flying colors and easily withstood wind sheers of up to 30 degrees from vertical. Kevin was holding up well dispite having been breathing oxygen through a mask for almost the entite flight. He had been training and sleeping in a high altitude chamber for months. On its 10th day aloft the J.Renee was over India bettering 120 mph! Steve Fossett as an observer and holder of the solo balloon distance and duration records worried that Kevin might lack sufficient fuel to complete the trip. Kevin and his advisors politely disagreed. However, as they crossed into Myanmar (formerly Burma) Kevin's oxygen supply started to fail and he was forced to land at Nyaungu. Pega Yoma, at 10:36 Z on March 3rd. Only because of this equipment failure did Kevin quit. As luck would have it, this remote spot in Asia is the only place within thousands of miles in any direction with a fully equipped balloon port. They helped him with the landing and packing the balloon for shipment back to the United States. The landing was a little rough and Kevin got banged up but is OK and back with his wife in his residence in Scottsdale, Arizona. He did set a new solo duration record but was short for distance. To be official everything must be verified and approved by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the world wide aviation group The flight data is as follows: Launched February 22nd at 6:50Z Landed March 3rd at 10:36Z 184.48 degrees traveled Estimated miles traveled 13,246. (over half-way around the world.) Kevin Uliassi has stated. "The reason for not doing it is the fear of death, but the reason for doing it is much stronger, and that's the fear of not living fully." Some private, national & international Ballooning organizations have indicated an interest in sponsoring another Non-Stop 'Round The World Balloon Race in Year 2000. We'll be, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, here to report on what's happening. Check back with us for a continuing update. Check the addresses below for detailed histories of other attempts. Write with your questions, flames, and comments. |