An American tried to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 375 balloons
American Jonathan Trappe made an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a bunch of 375 colorful helium balloons. The flight began on the morning of 12 September. The balloon basket is unusual, it can turn into an inflatable boat if the adventurer is forced to land in the sea...
(Total 16 photos)
1. American Jonathan Trappe took off on 375 balloons filled with helium in order to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Under favorable conditions, the flight would take almost a week. In the photo - preparation for the flight.
2. Trapp holds the record for a 14-hour such flight - he previously crossed the English Channel in 2010 and the Alps in 2011 in hot air balloons.
3. 39-year-old North Carolina native Jonathan Trapp has been preparing for this journey for two long years.
4. A few hours after the launch, he landed on the Canadian island of Newfoundland and was preparing to spend the night there before going out into the open ocean, his Facebook page reports, and Trapp's movements can be followed on the Delorme website.
5. Previously, Trapp flew using an office chair instead of a gondola, then, to the envy of fans of the famous cartoon "Up", he flew in a house built of aluminum and steel.
6. But the last goal turned out to be the most ambitious. “The Atlantic Ocean has been crossed many times and in the most unusual ways, but no one has flown it like that,” The Daily Telegraph quotes. About 150 volunteers helped him prepare for a new start.
7. Jonathan Trapp took a responsible approach to the choice of equipment.
“The Atlantic is not to be trifled with. Five people died trying to cross it in a balloon. And two unmanned bundles of balloons were lost in the ocean. I kept this in mind and did everything to reduce the risk. I spent months looking for the perfect gondola to cross this endless expanse of water. I needed something that would save me if I ended up in the ocean. After much thought and searching, I finally found the perfect, strong, rigid double-hull boat. Such boats are used by sailors when their ship is wrecked,” Trapp wrote on his official website.
8. Trapp intended to rise and fall in search of passing air currents at altitudes up to 7.6 km simply by dropping ballast and untying or shooting balls.
9. About 13 hours after the launch, the adventurer landed in a deserted, wooded area south of the village of Lark Harbor. There were no injuries. “It doesn’t look like France at all,” he shared his observations. We had to spend the night in a boat. And on Friday afternoon, he was found by a helicopter rented by the Canadian television company CBC. “I have never been so glad to see a journalist,” Trapp admitted.
10. According to him, flying up to Newfoundland, he realized that he had used up most of his ballast - sandbags too quickly, and calculations showed that he could not get to Europe. I had to choose: to land on the island or splash down somewhere in the ocean the next day.
11. “Yes, the attempt failed,” he stressed. “But this whole expedition was supposed to be an adventure for me. And I got exactly what I wanted - adventure.
Before the launch, Trapp noted on his website: “I have been preparing for this trip for two years ... The last person to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to Europe in a helium-filled balloon was Colonel Joe Kittinger. It happened in 1984. Decades have passed since then, however, no one else has been able to repeat this. And no one has ever tried to fly across the ocean on a bunch of balloons.
12. Since 1970, he added, "five people have died trying to cross the Atlantic" in single balloons.
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16. Jonathan plans to repeat his attempt in the future and reach another continent three to six days after takeoff. Then it can be, depending on the air currents, anywhere from Africa to Norway.
Keywords: Atlantic Ocean | Hot air balloon | Flight