Daredevil Indian tycoon claims world balloon altitude record<\/p>\n
Salil Panchal
\nAgence France Presse\/Mumbai<\/p>\n
Daredevil 67-year-old Indian tycoon Vijaypat Singhania claimed a
\nnew world altitude record Saturday by flying a hot air balloon to
\nthe edge of space, climbing nearly 70,000 feet (21,200 meters).<\/p>\n
The amateur aviator, whose record must still be ratified,
\nlifted off at dawn from a racecourse in the western Indian city
\nof Mumbai serenaded by a band.<\/p>\n
Singhania, who used one of the largest nylon balloons ever
\nbuilt, said he wanted \"to do the country proud.\"<\/p>\n
The hot-air balloon enthusiast had dubbed his flight in which
\nhe flew housed in a pressurized capsule through sub-zero
\ntemperatures \"MI 70K -- Mission Impossible 70,000.\"<\/p>\n
Singhania was aiming to beat the previous high altitude record
\nof 64,997 feet (19,811 metres) set by Swedish aviator Per
\nLindstrand in 1988 over the U.S. state of Texas.<\/p>\n
Some 17 aviators have previously tried to eclipse Lindstrand's
\nrecord.<\/p>\n
The technical team at the Mumbai racecourse monitoring
\nSinghania's five-hour flight said his balloon touched 69,852 feet
\n(21,167 metres).<\/p>\n
On reaching the level, Gautam Singania, the industrialist's
\nson, beamed proudly and said: \"Gentlemen, we've got the world
\nrecord.\"<\/p>\n
\"The flight went like clockwork,\" said British aviation expert
\nColin Prescot, who helped to design the 158-foot (48-meter) high
\nballoon -- equivalent to an 18-storey building -- which had a
\ncapacity of 1.6 million cubic feet (45,300 cubic metres).<\/p>\n
The Indian aviator opted to stop short of his 70,000 foot
\ntarget when his red-yellow-and-blue-check balloon hit a cold air
\npocket.<\/p>\n
The technical team told him to play it safe and descend as he
\nhad set the new record.<\/p>\n
Singhania, who heads upmarket Indian clothing company Raymond
\nLtd, touched down in Sinnar township, some 250 kilometers from
\nMumbai.<\/p>\n
The aviator, who has notched up more than 5,000 hours of
\nflying experience, is the lone Indian to have won the aviation
\nsports gold medal from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale
\n(FAI).<\/p>\n
Singhania who has made other hot air balloon flights but none
\nso high got the medal for a 24-day around the world plane race
\ncovering 34,000 kilometers (21,250 miles).<\/p>\n
Details of his latest feat will be submitted to the FAI, said
\nPrescot who was watched the flight along with balloon co-designer
\nAndy Elson, another Briton.<\/p>\n
Verification of the world record claim could take up to two
\nmonths, Prescot told AFP.<\/p>\n
str-pmc\/mtp<\/p>\n
AFPLifestyle-India-balloon-record-Sweden-Britain
\nAFP<\/p>\n
GetAFP 2.10 -- NOV 26, 2005 16:09:37<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/daredevil-indian-tycoon-claims-world-balloon-altitude-record-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }