Always wanted to know something about the Breitling Orbiter 3 but were afraid to ask?
If you want to ask questions to be included in this FAQ you should fill in my contact form. I am happy to answer questions relating to anything contained in this site, and will respond to you personally.
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From: Mark Hughes: Now you have achieved what we all thought was impossible, what is next for you?
1. Bertrand and I have set up the charitable foundation Winds of Hope, and we will be working hard to fulfil it's objectives. This we hope will be the lasting legacy of our flight.
2. See the what's next section
From: Victoria Stubbs: What do you eat when you are in a hot air balloon?
In a normal balloon there is the potential for propane gas to collect in the bottom of the basket so it's not a good idea to have an ignition source there, therefore it's pre-packed food only. On the Breitling Orbiter 3, cooking facilities were very basic - just the ability to heat water. We had fresh food pre-cooked and sealed in poly bags which we reheated in hot water - this lasted the first 3 days. Then we went over to making up dehydrated food prepared for us by Nestle, by mixing it with hot water - pasta and potato with different sauces. We also had some fresh fruit which lasted a few days. Overall, it was pretty boring food-wise, especially in the last week, but it really didn't seem terribly important in the grand scheme of things.
From: Hannah and Sadia:What type of equipment do you use? Do you use lots of computers etc?
We used lots of stuff, some simple, some leading edge technology. The CD-ROM contains a virtual balloon and capsule which you can exlore and find out more about the equipment.
From: Rifet & Bushra: Why don't you have any girls on your team!?
Believe me I would have swapped Bertrand for a girl any time!! (Only joking!). If you mean the pilots, I hope there will be a ladies team that will have a go at flying around the world some time, and I would love to help them. I guess the short answer is that the majority of balloonists are male (although there are plenty of lady pilots), therefore the law of averages states that there is less likely to be a lady in these small teams. However, there were lots of ladies on our back-up team, my wife for one. Also the person in charge of the manufacture of the balloon envelope was female.
From: John: Do you think you were lucky with the weather and how long will it be before another team does the same?
We were incredibly lucky with the weather - there were storms chasing us over China for example but never caught us up. Over the Pacific we could see storms all around us on the horizon, but never flew into one. Flying a balloon around the world is a really difficult thing to do, and just because we have achieved it, doesn't make it any easier for others - we can never control the weather. Personally, I think our records will stand for a very long time - it's not easy to get a sponsor to help with a project like this when it's already been done. No doubt I will be proved wrong - and good luck to you whoever you are!
From: Humma and Sabihah: How does it feel like going in a hot air balloon?
It's what you might imagine a magic carpet ride to be. Very smooth, wonderful views and little sense of speed because you are moving with the wind. You can hear people calling up from the ground - even trains toot at you. If you ever get an opportunity - don't hesitate! This is in an open basket of course flying below 1000 feet. The round the world balloon was more like a space capsule with the windows frozen over, so although we did have some great views, we had to scrape off the ice before we could see outside.
From: Keith Fennel: How do you navigate when all electronic systems go down? Does a bubble sextant still work at high altitude?
We didn't use a sextant because we rarely had a clear view of the sky and the balloon was constantly rotating, but it does work at high altitude. Because we are travelling with the wind, there's little we can do to affect our direction in a significant way. Our main concern, navigation-wise, was to know where we were from a survival point of view. We had handheld, battery operated backup GPS with us, plus compass and independent systems for putting out distress messages. A complete electrical failure on our main and backup systems, caused by a fire for example, would have meant the end of the flight, and probable disaster. But there were very few scenarios where we might have lost both main and backup power.
From: Barney: What was the hardest thing to cope with?
I think it was the cold. When our heating system failed due to the pilot flame becoming choked by the ice build-up in the second week of the flight, it got pretty chilly. Then we had to climb higher and higher as the flight progressed, and it got even chillier. It was almost impossible to exercise in the confines of the capsule, so one had to just sit there and fly the thing. The cold really saps the spirit and if the goal hadn't been so huge in our minds it could have been easy to give up. The goal is the key really; it's the thing that will keep you going in extreme circumstances. So when you tackle your own adventure, make sure your goal is a powerful one.
From: Jim Knowles: What is your next adventure? Would you go round the world by balloon again?
Next adventure - see what's next. Would I go again - no, but yes to another attempt had we failed. Having made such a great flight with so many vivid memories, trying again could only take away some of the magic. As with many things in life - it's usually a mistake to try to repeat something that was very special.
From: Ilham Manjra: Have you won a race before?
A few ballooning ones but nothing on this scale. The round the world flight was a great adventure - the winning was really just the icing on the cake.
From: Tracey Jenkins: How high did you go in your balloon?
38,500 feet over the North African deserts on the last day of the flight. This was a new world record for this type of balloon. It was pretty cold up there!
From: Kim Davies: How much food did you take? How many calories did you plan for and was this enough?
We took enough food for a 20 day flight, assuming that if we had been forced to ditch or land in a hostile environment during our flight, there would have been enough rations for a three day survival plan before rescue. But in a survival situation, assuming someone is looking for you, water is the most important thing - food is a long way down the list of priorities. We didn't count the calories, but we both lost about five kgs in weight over the twenty days - an unexpected bonus for me!
From: Gary and Paul: Were you pleased to beat Richard Branson?
I have to say that I was pleased we beat all the other teams. The media made the race a bit personal with Richard Branson. I would say though that ballooning at this level is a small world, and we all know each other quite well - most of us even like each other - including Richard! I understand the disappointment that the other teams felt - after all, we also had two failures with previous attempts. I guess somebody had to do it one day - I'm really glad it was Bertrand and I!
