BALLOONISTS' PLANS UP IN THE AIR; MOJAVE MAN, PARTNER DELAY GLOBAL TRIP WHEN WINDS EASE.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer With the weather finally cooperating and their strongest competitor aground a·ground adv. & adj. 1. Onto or on a shore, reef, or the bottom of a body of water: a ship that ran aground; a ship aground offshore. 2. , aviation pioneer 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. and veteran balloonist Dave Melton had planned to launch before dawn today on their quest to become the first to circle the globe nonstop in a hot-air balloon. But it was not to be. The launch team postponed the potentially record-breaking journey just hours before the balloon was to lift off. Don't blame the high-tech equipment. It was Mother Nature's doing. The jet stream that was expected to carry Rutan and Melton across the Atlantic Ocean Across the Atlantic Ocean is the twenty-eighth episode[1] of Mobile Suit Gundam. Plot summary Amuro and Sayla manage to reduce their time in docking the Gundam and the G-Fighter to fifteen seconds. on the first leg of their journey deteriorated, diminishing the chances that the mission would be successful, said Patrick Barry Patrick Barry may refer to:
Rutan and Melton had been set to launch the 170-foot-tall Global Hilton balloon by 3 a.m. PST PST Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, see there from Albuquerque, N.M. They had planned to travel east at altitudes of 30,000 to 35,000 feet, using the 200 mile-an-hour winds of the jet stream to take them on what they hope is a nine- to 14-day trip around the world. The weather had looked fine earlier in the day, but Rutan, a 59-year-old former Air Force test pilot and Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. veteran from Mojave, said he still was a little nervous. ``I have a lot of butterflies,'' he said in an earlier telephone interview from Albuquerque. ``There are a lot of little things that can go wrong.'' Rutan made aviation history when he and co-pilot Jeana Yeager became the first to complete a nonstop, nonrefueling round-the-world flight in the experimental Voyager aircraft in 1986. The 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 Voyager, which took off from and landed at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. , was built by Rutan's brother, Burt, at his 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. plant in Mojave, where the balloon capsule also was fabricated. Melton, 39, of Los Alamos Los Alamos (lôs ăl`əmōs', lŏs), uninc. town (1990 pop. 11,455), seat of Los Alamos co., N central N.Mex. It is on a long mesa extending from the Jemez Mts. The U.S. , N.M., has about 10 years' experience in balloons. Both of his previous round-the-world bids failed because of equipment problems. If the Global Hilton team eventually succeeds, it will grab one of the last aviation titles still left to be claimed - called 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. ``the last great aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau prize of the century.'' The $1 million effort is being financed by 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 , his Hilton Hotels
During Global Hilton's approximately 24,000-mile flight, the two men will live inside a 8-foot-diameter capsule insulated with five inches of foam to protect them from outside temperatures of minus-55 degrees. The capsule is fitted with a pilot's station and private sleeping quarters, a radar altimeter and a satellite recovery beacon. The Mylar balloon envelope, fabricated in England, will be lifted by helium during the day. At night, when helium cools, propane burners will be used to keep the balloon aloft. The Global Hilton launch was scheduled just hours after balloon-distance record-holder Steve Fossett ended his fourth around-the-world effort at the edge of the Black Sea in Russia. Fossett, a Colorado securities broker, launched Wednesday from St. Louis, and had traveled 7,300 miles before bad weather and a faulty heater forced him to land. In a January 1997 attempt, he traveled about 10,000 miles before he ran out of fuel over India. Two other round-the-world bids ended in failure last month. British millionaire Richard Branson's balloon took off without him in Morocco, wrecking itself in the North African desert. Balloonist Kevin Uliassi left Wednesday from Illinois, but a burst helium container ended his trip the first day. ROUND-THE-WORLD ATTEMPTS Here is a glance at attempts by balloonists to become the first to fly some 20,000 miles nonstop around the world: January 1981: Americans Maxie Anderson and Don Ida make the first round-the-world attempt, but travel only 2,676 miles from Egypt to India. Two later attempts also fail. In 1983, both are killed in a balloon crash in Germany. November 1991 to December 1994: The Earthwinds Hilton team makes five round-the-world attempts from Ohio and Nevada, each doomed by technical problems. Feb. 18, 1995: American Steve Fossett leaves Seoul, South Korea. Four days later, he lands 5,430 miles away in Saskatchewan, Canada _ setting a distance record and becoming the first to fly solo across the Pacific. Though it wasn't announced at the time, he had hoped to continue around the world. Jan. 8, 1996: Fossett leaves the Stratobowl, a natural depression in South Dakota's Black Hills. Mechanical problems end the flight two days and more than 1,800 miles later in a field in New Brunswick, Canada. Jan. 7, 1997: British tycoon Richard Branson leaves a military base near Marrakech, Morocco, on a balloon flight with two other crew members. Mechanical problems force them down 19 hours and 400 miles later in Algeria. Jan. 12, 1997: Bertrand Piccard of Switzerland and Wim Verstraeten of Belgium leave Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland. Kerosene kerosene or kerosine, colorless, thin mineral oil whose density is between 0.75 and 0.85 grams per cubic centimeter. A mixture of hydrocarbons, it is commonly obtained in the fractional distillation of petroleum as the portion boiling off fumes fumes odorous gases and other volatile materials; inhalation of irritating fumes causes coughing and, if sufficiently severe, irreversible pulmonary edema. choke off their air supply, forcing them down just six hours later in the Mediterranean. Jan. 14, 1997: Fossett leaves St. Louis. Short on fuel after waiting for clearance from Libya, he lands in India. His six-day, 10,361-mile trip sets ballooning records for distance and time aloft. Dec. 9, 1997: While preparing to take off from Marrakech, Branson's Virgin Global Challenger tears away by itself in a strong gust of wind. Algerian authorities recover it the next day in southwest Algeria. Jan. 1: Fossett leaves St. Louis on his fourth round-the-world attempt. After 4 1/2 days, he lands on the edge of the Black Sea, 50 miles north of Krasnodar, Russia, and about 7,300 miles from St. Louis. Jan. 1: American Kevin Uliassi takes off from a quarry near Rockford, Ill., shortly after Fossett's departure in St. Louis. Less than two hours later, a burst helium container forces Uliassi to abort (1) To exit a function or application without saving any data that has been changed. (2) To stop a transmission. (programming) abort - To terminate a program or process abnormally and usually suddenly, with or without diagnostic information. the flight. He lands in Starke County, Ind. UPCOMING FLIGHTS Americans Dick Rutan and Dave Melton plan to leave Albuquerque, N.M. today. Piccard and Verstraeten, along with Andy Elson of Britain, intend to lift off from the Chateau d'Oex on Thursday. The Associated Press contributed to this story. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, 2 boxes PHOTO (1 -- color) Balloonists Dick Rutan, left, of Mojave, and Dave Melton plan to get airborne today in their quest to circle the globe in a balloon. Associated Press (2) Volunteers help lay out the Global Hilton balloon, which was set to leave Albuquerque, N.M., today. Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal Box: (1) Up up and away Research and graphic by Bradford Mar/Daily News SOURCE: Global Hilton, National Geographic, World Book (2) Round-the-world attempts (see text) |
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