The Britannic Challenge

The Britannic Challenge

This extraordinary track shows the route of the first balloon flight to the North Pole in May 2000. I say extraordinary because we had no idea in which direction the balloon would fly after drifting close to the pole. The red balloon track depicts the route to, and the blue from, the pole. The pilot was David Hempleman-Adams, a veteran of polar exploration (previously on foot!). I helped David plan the project and acted as Flight Director. Luc Trullemans, one of our Breitling Orbiter team, was the meteorologist whose incredible skill found this track within the chaotic weather patterns of the Arctic Circle.