25 years ago: Swiss heroic deed in a helium hot-air balloon
Published: Sunday, Mar 17th 2024, 07:50
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It was the first round-the-world flight without a stopover in a balloon: Bertrand Piccard from Vaud and Brian Jones from Great Britain landed safely on the ground in the Egyptian desert on March 21, 1999 after their record-breaking flight in a nine-ton helium hot-air balloon.
The two adventurers had previously taken off from Château-d'Œx VD on March 1. The then 41-year-old psychiatrist Piccard and the 52-year-old fighter pilot Jones remained in the air for a total of 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes. According to Piccard, they covered 45,634 kilometers in the pressurized cabin of the "Breitling Orbiter 3" gondola. They flew over a total of 34 countries.
After the record-breaking flight, the balloon landed at 7.03 a.m. Swiss time 800 kilometers southwest of the Egyptian capital Cairo in the desert, in the middle of a restricted military area and around 20 kilometers from a road that had originally been targeted. The emaciated heroes Piccard and Jones had to hold out for seven hours in the impassable rocky and sandy desert until they were evacuated.
The official time measurement for the round-the-world race is 15 days, 10 hours and 24 minutes for a distance of 40,814 kilometers.
Congratulations from the British Queen
The two adventurers were celebrated around the world. Even the then British Queen Elizabeth II congratulated them. They were also rewarded with one million US dollars. The brewery Anheuser Busch had promised this sum to the first team to complete the non-stop round-the-world flight in a balloon.
Half of the money was used to set up a foundation, the other half was divided among all the team members who supported Piccard and Jones during the record-breaking journey.
As high as the leaning tower of Pisa
The heroic balloon was as high as the 55-metre-high Leaning Tower of Pisa (I). With a capacity of 18,500 cubic meters of helium, it carried a 5.40 meter long and 2.85 meter high pressure capsule made of Kevlar and carbon fiber.
The balloon was heated with propane, which was contained in 32 tanks of 100 kilograms each, distributed throughout the capsule. The capsule was powered by five batteries, which could be recharged using solar panels mounted under the capsule. The crew had sophisticated navigation instruments, including satellite telephones.
The organizers, pilots and the sole sponsor - Swiss watch manufacturer Breitling - had refused to disclose the total cost of the project, but experts estimated that it amounted to more than 3.5 million US dollars.
Exhibited in museums
Before the successful round-the-world flight, two attempts had initially failed, in January 1997 after a six-hour flight due to kerosene leaks in the cabin, and in February 1998 after a ten-day flight and China's refusal to authorize the crossing of its territory.
After the flight, the "Breitling Orbiter 3" balloon went to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington in the USA, while the capsule of "Orbiter 2" was exhibited at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. "Orbiter 1" was donated to the municipality of Château-d'Œx.
©Keystone/SDA
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