Russian Breaks Round-the-World Hot Air Balloon Record

Local Editor

Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov on Saturday broke the record for the fastest round-the-world flight in a hot air balloon, his crew said.

Flight coordinator John Wallington said Konyukhov, who took off from Western Australia on July 12, had successfully flown the route by Saturday afternoon but had yet to land.

His journey, taking just over 11 days, is faster than the record set by the late American adventurer Steve Fossett who in 2002 became the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon in a feat which took 13 days.

The flight route took Konyukhov, who is in his 60s, from Australia to above New Zealand, across the Pacific Ocean, South America, the Cape of Good Hope and the Southern Ocean.

During the journey of some 34,823 kilometers, he was confined to the lightweight gondola which is hung with more than 30 steel cylinders of propane gas.

Wallington said the last 24 hours of the trip had been uneventful for the experienced Russian explorer but joked that "the previous 10 days have been awful".

On Konyukhov's website, which tracked his progress, he has spoken of the strong polar jet stream which pushed him towards Antarctica as he approached Australia, saying it was "scary to be so down south and away from civilization".

Although equipped with sophisticated instruments, conditions inside the carbon fiber gondola were tough, with Konyukhov using an oxygen mask at higher altitudes.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team