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THE GREAT NON-STOP AROUND THE WORLD BALLOON RACE
Chapter Eight - September 10, 1998 Steve Fossett is back in the race! This morning the Virgin Global Challenger Website Team announced that he will join Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand for this season's attempt in the Virgin Global Challenger balloon. Branson said he issued the invitation to Steve by telephone as he was aboard a New Zealand Navy ship being taken to Australia from his crash site in the Coral Sea. The two have been friendly rivals for years in ballooning and sailing. Both have crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in balloons and sailboats and have great admiration for each other. Despite all his thoughts about giving up ballooning and his fears from his close call with the grim reaper, Steve couldn't resist the opportunity to fly again and the chance to share the prize with two of his old friends. He lost all of his equipment in his last attempt last month so it would have been impossible to replace and ready everything in time for another solo go this year. His wife had told him she hoped he would give up the quest. Even that was not enough to quell his adventurous spirit. Nothing has been said about the other, former member of the Virgin Team, Rory McCarthy, whom Steve will replace. Detailed information about the Virgin Global Challenger balloon's design, crew, equipment, route, etcetera are contained in prior Chapters of this article and in their website, listed below. In other action on the ballooning front, the South African entry, the Global Conqueror has rewritten their website to reflect a more humble approach. In correspondence, Geritt Coetzee has turned out to be a pretty decent chap whose intent was to sound confident but not arrogant. He is hampered by the fact that his native language is Afrikaans and has some limitations in his use of English. He asks our forbearance and tolerance in this respect. It is worthwhile to spend some time getting reacquainted with their website, listed below. They are close to getting a sponsor and the funding necessary for their attempt. Team RE/MAX website put up their online K-12 Education section on September 1, 1998. It has been "Under Construction" up 'til now. This feature highlights educational opportunities offered by their flight in its Mission, Aeronautics, Human Adaptation, Geography, Meteorology and Resources. The curriculum of 30 lessons is professional and interesting. It was developed by educators at Colorado State University with the contributions of elementary and high school teachers. It will be translated into French, Spanish and Portuguese by the University of Massachusetts so it can be used by children and teachers along most of the balloon's flight path. The Solo Spirit website is now an archive of Steve Fossett's August 1998 saga and will be maintained for a while. There will be no new material added. It is a tremendous educational resource. The Breitling web team is in the process of redoing their website. Dick Rutan and Dave Melton have announced their re-entry into the race. The new balloon will be titled "World Quest" and will launch in the Southern Hemisphere from Chile around July 1999. Although Barron Hilton, Pepsi Cola, and the Hilton Hotel chain remain supporters and a major funding source, there will be no Global Hilton balloon this season. Dick and Dave are still looking for a principal sponsor to pick up the rest of the tab. They have completed fabrication of a new, pressurized crew capsule. Read all about their new approach in their new website. We know of at least two more new entries but have been sworn to secrecy until they are ready to announce. There are also several "new" lighter-than-air technologies in the hopper which may or may not wind up in the race. We will keep you posted as things develop. The other teams listed are still in the race but have no new activities to report right now. Every one of the team websites is listed in the Index. Just click on an address to go take a look. All are interesting and informative. Bookmark ARMCHAIR so you can check back with a single click to keep in touch with new events in this great adventure! |