Canadian Sandra Rolfe Set A New Female Endurance Record In Her ANX-04 Hot Air Balloon

Sandra Rolfe is referred to as an extreme balloonist, and has set a new women’s record for a hot air balloon endurance flight of 7 hours and 25 minutes aloft. Her flight started from Plantagenet, Ontario last week and she touched down at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport. Her record flight will be recorded when it is ratified by the Fédérational Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

According to the Nation Capital Balloon Club website, this is not her first record flight. If ratified by the FAI, this will be Rolfe’s 3rd World Record, and she has also set 28 Canadian hot air balloon records.

In an Ottawa Citizen.com article, Rolfe was quoted as saying, “Around noon I could look around and enjoy the scenery a bit. But in the beginning you’re busy because the balloon is still so heavy and at the end you’re busy because you’re trying to figure out where you’re going. How much fuel do you have? Are you going to make it? Where are you going to land? Where is the crew?”

Flying a hot air balloon for recreational purposes can be serene and relaxing, but when you’re going for a record endurance or distance flight there are numerous factors that must be considered. To the uninitiated, it’s difficult to equate the need for fuel to balloon flight, but for a hot air balloon to lift, it must to have fuel. Her flight involved a careful balance of fuel use and controlling her location by varying altitude to use the wind or steering.

It was reported that Rolfe’s flight was finally terminated because she was heading into an area that was not suitable for landing and could not be accessed by her following ground crew. Hot air balloon flying combines the skill of the pilot, the equipment, and the ground crew to safely complete a flight.

We at ANN congratulate Sandra Rolfe for her achievement.

(Image of Rolfe's balloon provided by the Nation Capital Balloon Club)

FMI: www.ncballoonclub.ca