Date Posted:18:22:05 06/22/02 Sat Author: Tweety Subject: Solo Balloonist Sails Smoothly Near Easter Island
Solo Balloonist Sails Smoothly Near Easter Island Sat Jun 22, 5:10 PM ET By Louise Egan
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Adventure balloonist Steve Fossett was relaxing with an adventure book Saturday as he sped over the South Pacific Ocean in his sixth attempt to become the first solo balloonist to circle the world nonstop.
Fossett, a 58-year-old U.S. millionaire, cruised 100 miles west of Easter Island at 1 p.m. EDT at a speed of about 44 mph. Earlier Saturday, he passed the quarter mark of his round-the-world trek.
Adventure balloonist Steve Fossett was relaxing with an adventure book June 22, 2002 as he sped over the South Pacific Ocean in his sixth attempt to become the first solo balloonist to circle the world nonstop. Fossett is seen in this frame grab from an externally mounted video camera as the balloon floats at 23,000 feet, east of Sydney on June 21. (Pool/Reuters)
He should reach the coast of Chile in three days, his mission control team in St. Louis said.
"I'd say we're averaging about two to three times faster than last time," said Barry Tobias, assistant air traffic control coordinator.
Since a smooth lift-off Wednesday from the Australian outback, Fossett's silver-colored balloon has covered 5,225 miles and so far has been free of the glitches that plagued his previous attempts. His last bid ended less than a year ago after 12 days of flight.
In e-mails to his mission control, Fossett said he was averaging four to six hours of sleep each night, better than on other trips.
He even had time to begin "Canyons of Colorado," a book by John Wesley Powell that recounts the author's heroic 1869 expedition through the Grand Canyon, at that time uncharted.
Outside his closet-sized and non-pressurized capsule, Fossett sees nothing but a "whole lot of blue," said Tobias.
"It doesn't look like he'll be seeing much of anything until he reaches Chile," he said.
The helium and hot-air balloon is drifting at an altitude of 23,000 feet. The thin air forces the former Chicago stockbroker to wear an oxygen mask at all times, taking it off only to eat his military-style rations. His latest snack was a bean salad and macadamia nuts.
PACIFIC STORM
In the next day or two, Fossett will fly near a Pacific storm that his mission control hopes will provide winds to speed up the flight even further but which poses no danger.
In his last attempt in August, Fossett took 12 days to reach Chile from Australia due to slow winds. He is currently on track to cross that distance in half the time.
When he approaches the lower half of South America, Fossett will attempt to raise his altitude to cross the Andes range.
Treacherous winds over the peaks last year bounced him around violently and forced him to strap on his emergency parachute for fear the balloon would burst. After 24 hours of lightning storms, he ended his trek in Brazil, a little past the halfway mark.
But the experience was not nearly as harrowing as his 29,000-foot plunge into the Coral Sea off northeast Australia that nearly killed him in his 1998 solo bid.
If all goes well, he will fly over Chile and Argentina, then cross the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean and arrive back in Australia, covering 17,000 to 18,000 miles.
The entire trip is estimated to take between 12 and 13 days, his mission control said.
Fossett tried for years to be the first balloonist to circle the globe nonstop. But that honor went in March 1999 to Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard and English co-pilot Brian Jones.
Fossett then set his sights on being the first to make such a trip solo.
The Bud Light Spirit of Freedom balloon piloted by American adventurer Steve Fossett lifts off from Northam airport, 120 kilometers east of Perth, Australia, Wednesday June 19. Fossett left the ground in his sixth attempt to become the first person to fly solo around the world in the balloon. (AP Photo/POOL/Trevor Collens)
Steve Fossett's Spirit of Freedom balloon floats at 23,000 feet, 390 miles east of Sydney, Australia, June 21, 2002. Fossett crossed New Zealand and began a 5,700-mile trip across the South Pacific, setting a fast track in his bid to make the first nonstop solo balloon trip around the world. (Photo by Pool/Reuters)
Progress reports on the attempt are being posted on the Web site:
