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THE GREAT NON-STOP AROUND THE WORLD BALLOON RACE
Chapter Eighteen - April 30, 2000 Steve Fossett has asccomplished everything he has set out to do except fly non-stop around the world in a balloon. He has tried, unsuccessfully, time and time again. He's not only stubborn, he's committed. Even his wife has asked him to forget it, but he is bound and determined to do it. He has set new world records boating and flying in fixed-wing aircraft but the ballooning crown has escaped him. So he will try again. Alone, in an open gondola. This time the balloon will be bigger with six burners instead of four. The liftoff point will be in the Southern Hemisphere where the meteorologists won't be called on to predict weather in the worst thunderstorm area in the world two weeks in advance. He's dedicated to a solo non-stop trip around the world. It may cost him his life but he's going to give it a try. The Breitling Orbiter 3 with Picard and Jones won Budweiser's million bucks, trophy, and the honor and glory of being first. They had almost unlimited resources and a multi-million dollar team backing them. Theirs was a team effort in a controlled atmosphere gondola. They had the backing of an entire nation's (Switzerland) meteorologists. They faced all the dangers and overcame them, but they were a team - not solo. Steve and Kevin had, and still have, a burning desire to do it alone, in an open capsule. Sreve has the money and the resourses, Kevin Uliassi doesn't. So whenever the weather around the globe is just right Fossett will lift off from a little goldmining town in the Western Australian desert called Kalgoorlie about the first of June, weather permitting. Kevin lifted off at 10 'til 1 AM Tuesday, February 22, 2000, but he didn't make ir all the way. He got to.Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Asia when his oxygen system gave up and he was forced to land. He was doing his best to be the first solo circumnavigator. Now Steve may rob him of that distinction. Check back with us for a daily report when Steve gets off the ground. Check his website listed on the Armchair links page for details. Maybe someone else will try it also. Write with your questions, flames, and comments. |