AIMING HIGH ON BAG OF HOT AIR; BALLOON VOYAGE WILL STRIVE TO CIRCLE THE GLOBE.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer Dick Rutan Richard Glenn “Dick” Rutan (born July 1, 1938) is an aviator who piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop with the assistance of Jeana Yeager. He was born in Loma Linda, California, where he gained an interest in flight at a young age. , the Mojave pilot who gained fame 11 years ago when his experimental aircraft circumnavigated the globe on just one tank of gas, is making another around-the-world bid - this time in a helium balloon. Rutan and his partner, New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). balloonist Dave Melton, will try to fly nonstop around the globe in a hermetically her·met·ic also her·met·i·cal adj. 1. Completely sealed, especially against the escape or entry of air. 2. Impervious to outside interference or influence: sealed, 8-foot-diameter capsule suspended from a gas-filled balloon as tall as a 17-story building. ``We're doing it because no one has done it before,'' said Rutan, 59, who holds 20 world speed and distance records in airplanes. ``I've been in the around-the-world business for 11 years. I flew the Voyager 'round the world. I thought it would be fun to do it again.'' The men will spend nine to 14 days at altitudes of 30,000 to 35,000 feet - as high as commercial jetliners fly - to catch the jet-stream winds they hope will propel them eastward around the globe. Dubbed the Global Hilton, the $1 million project is being financed by billionaire Barron Hilton William Barron Hilton I (born October 23, 1927) is an American heir and co-chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain and paternal grandfather of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton. Biography - a lifelong aviation enthusiast who personally put up one-third of the money - along with his Hilton Hotels
In addition, Anheuser-Busch has offered a $1 million prize for the first team to make it around the world. The balloon's carbon-fiber capsule is a sphere insulated with 5 inches of foam and fitted with a pilot station and private sleeping quarters, satellite communications and navigations systems, a radar altimeter A type of absolute altimeter which measures vertical distance to the surface below using radar technology. See also absolute altimeter. and a satellite recovery beacon. It was built by Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled), formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States and is headed by aircraft designer Burt Rutan. Inc., a company owned by Rutan's brother, Burt, at Mojave Airport, where the craft is undergoing finishing touches finishing touches finish npl the finishing touches → der letzte Schliff finishing touches npl → ultimi ritocchi mpl in a hangar. The Mylar balloon envelope was fabricated in England and is awaiting inflation in Albuquerque, N.M., where Dick Rutan and Melton hope to launch as early as Jan. 5. The balloon will be lifted by helium. At night, when the helium cools and loses its lifting power, propane-powered burners will be turned on to duplicate the sun's effects. The balloon is expected to fly at altitudes ``right in the core of the jet stream,'' Rutan said. The winds are expected to blow the men eastward at speeds of up to 200 mph, but they will have little control over their route. They can only adjust the balloon's altitude in search of the most favorable winds. A former Air Force test pilot and Vietnam combat veteran, Rutan made aviation history in December 1986 when he and co-pilot Jeana Yeager became the first to complete a nonstop, unrefueled around-the-world flight. They flew a spindly spin·dly adj. spin·dli·er, spin·dli·est Slender and elongated, especially in a way that suggests weakness. spindly Adjective [-dlier, -dliest , unconventional twin-engine plane called Voyager, designed by Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (born June 17, 1943 in Estacada, Oregon) is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft. . Melton joined this latest balloon bid in October as a part of the flight crew, but was asked to be a co-pilot when Rutan's other partner, Richard Abruzzo, dropped out when his wife became pregnant. ``It took about two milliseconds to say yes,'' Melton said. The technical challenges have mostly been overcome at this point, Melton said. The biggest challenge, however, still remains. ``We've got to deal with Mother Nature, which nobody has learned to deal with,'' he said. If the Global Hilton team succeeds, its members will capture one of the last aviation titles still left unclaimed, a feat characterized by the National Geographic Society National Geographic Society U.S. scientific society founded in 1888 in Washington, D.C., by a small group of eminent explorers and scientists “for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge. as ``the century's last great aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau prize.'' Melton, 39, was a member of a 1993 expedition, again sponsored by Hilton, to fly around the world in a unique double-balloon system. Two attempts were cut short because of equipment malfunctions, and the double-balloon concept was ultimately discarded. The Global Hilton team faces competition in its quest. There are as many as eight other teams vying for the first around-the-world balloon flight, including current distance record holder Steve Fossett of Chicago. In January, Fossett flew from St. Louis Tto India in six days, about halfway to his around-the-world goal. He's looking to make another around-the-world bid this winter. An around-the-world effort headed by British entrepreneur Richard Branson stalled two weeks ago when his balloon took off without him in North Africa. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color in AV Edition only) Dick Rutan, left, and Dave Melton aim to be the first to circle the globe nonstop by balloon, starting from Mojave. (2--Color in AV Edition only) The Global Hilton pilots' capsule emphasizes efficiency over elbow room. (3--Color in AV Edition only) A crane hoists the balloon's crew capsule, with solar array below, at Mojave Airport. David R. Crane/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion