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Around the World In 14 Days

Posted by timothy on from the fortnight-aloft dept.

An anonymous reader writes: "Adventurer Steve Fossett succeeded Tuesday on his sixth try to pilot a balloon solo around the world, crossing the meridian where he started his historic journey June 19, his ground crew at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, announced. Here is the official site, while there's also several other articles, including this one."

3 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Here are the "official rules" by Lev13than · · Score: 5, Informative

    It appears that the rules for balloon flights are established by The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI):

    http://www.fai.org/ballooning/rtw2-98.asp

    There's lots of interesting info on their website at http://www.fai.org/

    It's a good read, if for no other reason than gaining the ability to drop "homologation" into your next conversation.

    --
    When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
  2. Re:not 24,000 miles by Dead+Chicken · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you guys actually read some of the information on the site then you would see that

    -snip-
    As established by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale - the International governing body of aeronautics - the rules say a pilot must set a course of waypoints within a band of the Earth that stays at least 30 degrees latitude south of the North Pole or 30 degrees north of the South Pole. The lines joining those waypoints (on a "great circle" projection) must stay outside those polar caps, although parts of the actual flight can drift inside them.

    --
    "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions." Proverbs 18 : 2
  3. What do you think that money was spent on? by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ground crew. People who made the balloon, equipment, and supplies.

    It's like the space program -- people act as if the money is just shot into space and lost. It wasn't -- it is spent on the designers, builders, support crew.

    Whether or not those people should have considered getting "real" jobs is another question which you seem to know the answer to. I personally would rather they got it than some jacknape too lazy to get off his ass and look for a job. And if it comes down to a spacecraft or balloon engineer or ground crew, vs someone equally deserving in some other country, I'd just as soon it went to the locals.

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