JET STREAM CONDITIONS LOOK GOOD FOR BALLOONISTS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Famed aviator Dick Rutan and balloonist Dave Melton will try again today to launch their quest to become the first to circle the Earth nonstop in a balloon.

With weather forecasts looking good on the ground and aloft in the jet stream, Rutan and Melton planned to launch their balloon called the Global Hilton at 3 a.m. today from Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park.

``Everybody got a good rest,'' said Patrick Barry, spokesman for the Global Hilton effort. ``They're ready to go.''

The forecast for the launch site is dead calm, perfect conditions for the crew to inflate the balloon and begin its effort. It is projected that the jet stream will carry the balloon to the Atlantic coast at Georgia.

From there, the balloon will cross the Atlantic Ocean and enter Europe at the Strait of Gibraltar. The Global Hilton will travel along the Mediterranean Sea, go across the Middle East and cross the Himalaya Mountains in Asia.

It will take nine to 14 days to go around the world, provided the weather and the jet stream cooperate.

The crew took advantage of the delay to repack its 8-foot-diameter capsule, adding 130 pounds of ballast in the form of batteries. The batteries will provide more electricity during the flight.

The Global Hilton balloon will use propane and helium to stay aloft in the jet stream at 30,000 to 35,000 feet altitude - as high as commercial airliners fly. The balloon will be lifted by helium during the day. At night, when helium cools, propane burners will be used to keep the balloon aloft.

Their hermetically sealed capsule is insulated with 5 inches of foam to protect them from outside temperatures of 55 degrees below zero.

Rutan, 59, is a former Air Force test pilot and a Vietnam combat veteran. Rutan made aviation history when he and his co-pilot Jeana Yeager became the first to complete a nonstop, unrefueled round-the-world flight in the Voyager airplane in December 1986.

Melton, 39, of Los Alamos, N.M., has about 10 years of balloon flying experience, including serving on the teams of two previous around-the-world attempts.

If the Global Hilton team succeeds, it will grab one of the last aviation firsts still left to be claimed. In addition, Anheuser-Busch has put up a $1 million prize for the first balloonists to make it around the world.