Balloonists Watch Weather in Quest for Global Record

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  No fewer than five teams of adventurers are hoping that they’ll be the one to put the last great aviation milestone in the record books--a nonstop, around-the-world balloon trek.

Teams are testing their equipment and studying weather patterns for the perfect launch window, expected in the next few weeks.

“There’s a pretty good chance that one of these teams is going to make it this year,” said Tom Hamilton, editor and publisher of Balloon Life, a Seattle-based hot-air ballooning magazine.

All three pilots on the Spirit of Peace, launching from Albuquerque, say they’re ready once the weather is. “November and December looks good, but it could happen any time between now and February,” said pilot-in-command Jacques Soukup.

For now, they are making final adjustments on the 8-foot-wide, 18-foot-long capsule that hangs below the 19-story balloon.

Once they get weather clearance, they’ll inflate their balloon with a helium- and hot-air mixture, and be off to an altitude of 30,000 feet. If successful, the trip should take just over two weeks.

“This is really one amazing piece of machinery, and it’s a proven craft,” said a grinning Ted Moore, capsule manager. “If anybody makes it around the world it should be us.”

Other launches are spread throughout the globe, with the only other U.S.-launched attempt to be Kevin Uliassi’s solo effort from the Chicago area.

Chicago millionaire Steve Fossett is scheduled to make another attempt from the Swiss Alps--this time joining forces with archrival Richard Branson, the flamboyant tycoon whose Virgin company name adorns everything from record stores and clothing to an airline. Fossett’s last attempt ended in August in a dramatic landing in rural Myanmar, the former Burma, after he traveled two-thirds of the Earth’s circumference before a severe storm ruptured his balloon.

A Nov. 30 launch is scheduled from Marrakech, Morroco, for Bertrand Piccard and Tony Brown.

And then there’s the Re/Max balloon team launching from Alice Springs, Australia, sometime next month. Taking a different approach, the group will float at 130,000 feet, near the outer edge of the earth’s atmosphere, to avoid weather problems and political obstacles from the countries below.