bkk post,February 6, 1998. ROUND-TH

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

February 6, 1998.  ROUND-THE-WORLD TRIP

              Balloon set to land
              in Burma

              World record for longest flight

              The Breitling Orbiter 2 balloon plans to touch down in Burma
              today after its European crew abandoned hopes of circling the
              world, its press service said in Geneva.

              By staying aloft until this evening, the balloon - which left
              Switzerland on January 28 - will be able to claim the world
              record for the longest flight ever made without refuelling.

              The Burmese government yesterday granted the European
              balloonist team permission to land on its territory after they
              abandoned a round-the-world bid, officials said.

              "Approval has been given for the overfly and landing of the
              balloon in Burma and we will also provide necessary assistance
              to ensure their success," an official statement said.

              The team abandoned their attempt to circle the world non-stop
              on Wednesday after China refused to grant permission for the
              craft to overfly its territory, organisers said.

              The authorities in Rangoon received a request yesterday from the
              team to cross into their air space and land in Burma.

              "The trip around the world is definitely over," a spokesman for
              the ground team in Geneva said.

              The ground team said the balloon was heading from India to
              northern Thailand on its way to Burma yesterday, but Thai
              authorities denied having received an overflight request.

              Permanent Secretary for Transport and Communications
              Mahidol Chantrangkul said Thailand was ready to give the
              balloonists any ground support if requested.

              A Tourism Authority of Thailand official said the country was
              more than glad to receive the balloonists. He believed the
              presence of the team would help promote the Thai image and
              boost tourism.

              China's official reason for not allowing the crossing was "civil
              security," but foreign experts said the refusal was instigated by
              the People's Liberation Army to prevent any risk of spying.

              The Swiss team, like their rivals seeking "the last great aviation
              record", had hoped to benefit from the fast jet stream which
              traverses Chinese air space towards the Pacific Ocean at more
              than 230 kilometres per hour.

              However, this would entail rising to a height of 9,500 metres and
              using the same air corridors as commercial airliners.

              "Air safety is not the real reason, because you can always alert
              the airlines and control the routes for the 24 hours" needed to get
              the balloon across China, an aeronautics expert said.

              "The real motive for refusing comes from the army, which is in
              sole charge of the skies over China, and which imagines spies
              everywhere."

              The Swiss team had hoped to use the jet stream over China to
              reach California in five days and north Africa in another four,
              breaking the record after a 25,000 kilometre round-the-world
              flight.

              It was the 14th attempt to circle the world by balloon non-stop
              in the past two years.

              However, the Breitling Orbiter 2 would remain aloft in a bid to
              break another world record - the longest unrefuelled flight by an
              aircraft, the spokesman said.

              It has already broken the world endurance record for balloon
              flight which had previously stood to the American Steve Fosset
              at 146 hours and 44 minutes.

              Swiss national Bertrand Piccard and his team members, Belgian
              Wim Verstraeten and Briton Andy Elson, left Chateau-d'Oex,
              Switzerland, on January 28 in what was the fifth attempt to fly
              around the world non-stop in a balloon since last December.

              The trio have since flown some 6,000 kilometres over France,
              Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. -
              Reuters/Bangkok Post




                                     




© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 1998
Contact the Bangkok Post
Web Comments: Webmaster 

Last Modified: Fri, Feb 6, 1998