3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 9

Lindstrand were the first to cross
the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, rather
than a helium/gas filled balloon. They
flew a distance of 2,900 miles in a record
breaking time of 33 hours. At the time, the
envelope they used was the largest ever
flown, at 2.3 million cubic feet of capacity.
A year later, Per Lindstand set yet another
record, this time for highest solo flight ever
recorded in a hot air balloon - 65,000 feet!
The great team of Richard Branson and
Per Lindstrand paired up again in 1991 and
became the first to cross the Pacific in a hot
air balloon. They travelled 6,700 miles in 47
hours, from Japan to Canada breaking the
world distance record, travelling at speeds of
up to 245 mph. 4 years later, Steve Fossett
became the first to complete the Transpacific
balloon route by himself, travelling from Korea
and landing in Canada 4 days later.
Finally, in 1999 the first around the world
flight was completed by Bertrand Piccard and
Brian Jones. Leaving from Switzerland and
landing in Africa, they smashed all previous
distance records, flying for 19 days, 21 hours
and 55 minutes.
It’s interesting to see how the development
of the the hot air balloon has gone full circle
on itself. At the very start, the first balloonists
burnt materials onboard the balloon to
generate heat to propel the envelope into
the air. This theory then became obsolete as
gas and helium designs were introduced
as it was considered safer and more reliable
than flying with an open flame. It is only
within the last 50 or so years that hot air
balloons have come back into interest.
of the best
destinations for Hot air
ballooning in India. During the
Pushkar camel fair, hot air ballooning is one
of the major attractions of adventure travel in
Rajasthan. Pollachi in Tamilnadu also plays
host to balloon festivals.
Hang Gliding
By the end of the sixth century A.D., the
Chinese had managed to build kites large and
aerodynamic enough to sustain the weight
of an average-sized person. It was only a
matter of time before someone decided to
simply remove the kite strings and see what
happened. Most early glider designs did
not ensure safe flight; the problem was that
early flight pioneers did not sufficiently
understand
the
underlying
principles
that made a bird’s wing work. Starting
in the 1880s technical and scientific
advancements were made that led to
the first truly practical gliders.
The history of hang gliding
has origins in the birth
of
aviation
itself.
Flex-wing
hang
gliders
are
classified
as class
o n e
Hot
air
ballooning
is
an
adventurous,
fun,
thrill
and
most
exciting
way
to
discover places and have the
bird’s eye view of the land
from a height.
Rajasthan, ”The
Royal State
Of India”
is one
Vol 4 | Issue 1 |Jan - Feb 2019
9