Mon, Oct 13, 2014
Flight From Japan To The North American West Coast Will Set A New Record At 5,208 Miles If Successful
On August 27, 1783, Jacques Charles launched his first gas-filled balloon in France. One observer of this event was our own American representative to France, Benjamin Franklin. When asked by another scientist watching the flight with great skepticism, “What good is it?” Franklin replied, “What good is a new-born babe?”.
According to an Associated Press report, balloon pilots Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev will make an attempt at the long-distance flight in the first part of next year. They made their announcement of their plans for the record-breaking flight attempt at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta last week.
The report said that this would be a distance record as well as an endurance record. The two balloon pilots will be housed in a capsule type vehicle’s suspended beneath the helium bag. They plan to fly at an altitude of about 15,000 feet and must be prepared for a flight of several days in cold temperatures.
According to the report, Bradley is quoted as saying “It’s like a camping trip in the sky, you need to bring all of the supplies you’re going to need because you can’t come back.”
The ability to make this flight has been demonstrated before. While a manned flight like this has not been attempted, unmanned balloon flights from Japan to the United States did occur doing during World War II. These balloons were equipped with bombs to start fires in the woods of the Northwest United States, and some of them did make it.
(Image of gas balloon from file)
More News
Light Gun A handheld directional light signaling device which emits a brilliant narrow beam of white, green, or red light as selected by the tower controller. The color and type of>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
Aero Linx: JAARS, Inc. For decades now, we’ve landed planes on narrow rivers and towering mountains. We’ve outfitted boats and vehicles to reach villages that rarely se>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]
Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within EDST of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 na>[...]