Beyond his flights, Bruce has driven innovation in ballooning, contributing to round-the-world attempts and developing technologies like autopilots and altitude alarms. His book, A Life in the Air, is a compelling chronicle of innovation, passion, and the indomitable spirit of flight, detailing his record-breaking adventures and the behind-the-scenes challenges that shaped them.

In an interview with Sitara Maruf, Bruce reflected on key moments from his extraordinary journey. Excerpts from their conversation are below, with more insights to follow in a forthcoming project.

Sitara Maruf: Let’s start with one of your remarkable achievements—your 1995 hot air balloon flight to 30,820 feet. How did you prepare for such a high-altitude flight?

Bruce Comstock: That altitude is above about 70% of the atmosphere, so oxygen levels are critically low. If your breathing oxygen system fails, you could lose consciousness in about 30 seconds and would be fatal if not addressed immediately. To prepare, I borrowed a military-grade oxygen mask and regulator from a friend who had flown F-4 jets in the Marines. I also carried a backup oxygen system, a simpler setup that could sustain me in case of failure.

Another challenge was modifying the balloon burner. Burners typically don’t work well at 30,000 feet because the flame lifts off the burner base due to the thin air and then goes out, releasing unburned propane. To solve this, I modified the jets and fed supplemental oxygen to the pilot light of one burner. This allowed me to relight the burner if it flamed out.

I was also fortunate to borrow the right size balloon from Cameron Balloons, even though I had recently left the company. It was critical to have the right equipment for reaching that altitude.

Gas balloons are somewhat easier to take to high altitudes because you can use a larger envelope to compensate. With a hot air balloon, you face the additional challenge of high envelope temperatures due to low air density at those altitudes. But that’s balanced by the fact that it’s incredibly cold at 30,000 feet, minus 65 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the envelope temperature was around 250 degrees, creating a temperature differential of about 315 degrees. This unusual difference was enough to generate lift in the thin air, where the density is only 28% of what it is at sea level.

Sitara Maruf: Could you share the purpose for making this flight?

Bruce Comstock: Many people ask why I attempted this flight. The International Aeronautic Federation (FAI) had established a pilot badge system with various levels of achievement—silver, gold, and diamond—based on completing tasks like distance, duration, altitude, and competition accuracy. For the highest diamond level, I had already completed everything except the altitude requirement: a flight to 9,000 meters, or about 29,000 feet.

Since I had already achieved the other requirements, I decided to take on this challenge. I aimed for 30,000 feet instead of 29,000 because it felt like a more significant milestone—a big round number.

During the flight, I encountered burner issues starting around 25,000 feet. The flame kept going out due to the thin air, and I had to adjust the position of the blast valve handle very carefully to keep the burner working. At one point, I removed a glove to make finer adjustments, but the extreme cold caused my hand to go numb. First, it hurt intensely, and then it stopped hurting entirely—a bad sign. I had to stop using that hand to avoid further damage.

Somewhere just over 30,000 feet, I thought, “This is the goal I set.” I was struggling with the burner, and I asked myself, why continue going higher? I had achieved my objective, and the issues with the burner were concerning. I was also spraying unburned propane into the envelope, which I didn’t like.

Sitara Maruf: Balloon pilots generally can’t fly above 18,000 feet because of air traffic control regulations to provide a separation between balloons and other aircraft.  Did the Federal Aviation Administration grant permission easily, considering the dangers of high-altitude flights?

Bruce Comstock: That was interesting. I contacted the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Cleveland, which oversees southern Michigan, and was quickly connected to someone managing airspace restrictions. I had also approached my local FAA office beforehand. Those conversations were… interesting. The local office said they couldn’t grant permission and had to “bump it up to Washington.” I immediately thought, “This will take years.” They believed I needed a special permit, but I realized that wasn’t the case. So, I contacted the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Cleveland directly. I explained my plan to take off early, possibly before sunrise, to minimize interference with passenger traffic between Detroit and Chicago. I also assured them I’d only stay at high altitude briefly before descending. He told me, “You have just as much right to be there as the jets do.” That was a relief. (laughs)

Sitara Maruf: At high altitudes, beyond 20,000 feet, how does the thin air affect the ascent and descent of a balloon?

Bruce Comstock: The thin air is actually advantageous in some ways. Air produces drag, which you need to overcome during ascent. At high altitudes, with less air density, the drag is significantly reduced. On descent, the thin air allows the balloon to descend faster without collapsing as much as it would at lower altitudes.

Sitara Maruf: You created an autopilot for Steve Fossett’s Atlantic flight in a Rozière balloon. Could you explain how it works and its role in long-distance ballooning?

Bruce Comstock: After getting involved in ballooning, I realized it was possible to build a device to sense air pressure and keep a balloon level—essentially an autopilot. In the late 1970s, before digital computers, I taught myself to design analog circuits and built a simple autopilot in my basement. It wasn’t highly developed, but it worked. Don Cameron knew about it and told Steve Fossett to contact me when he needed an autopilot for his Atlantic flight.

Steve asked me several times to make one, but I initially declined because of the tight timeline. However, my friend Tim Cole, who was flying with Steve, convinced me to create a basic autopilot as a favor. It was a rudimentary device, and I considered it be something of a “toy.”

This autopilot wasn’t very precise—it drifted 600-800 feet off altitude in a few hours because it only used a rate-of-climb instrument, not a pressure sensor. After the Atlantic flight, I told Steve I could build a more reliable one and suggested making two for redundancy.

Sitara Maruf: Did the autopilot detect bad weather or shifting winds?

Bruce Comstock: No, its sole purpose was to maintain a constant altitude. It used an air pressure sensor and a sensitive electronic rate-of-climb input. If the balloon deviated from the desired altitude, the autopilot adjusted to bring it back. For this, I learned to program a single-board industrial digital computer, which was quite a challenge at the time.

Sitara Maruf: For your Aspen-to-Altoona flight, you used the same Rozière balloon that Steve Fossett flew for his successful Atlantic crossing. Flying at night over the Colorado mountains, with peaks reaching 14,000 feet, must have been daunting. How does mountainous terrain affect the balloon and wind patterns?

Bruce Comstock: I had no prior experience flying over mountains, but I remembered a paper by an Austrian balloonist. He warned that if winds at the elevation of the terrain reach 30 knots or more, mountain waves can form. These waves occur when air is forced up by ridges, overshoots, and then oscillates in waves. Flying in those conditions is untenable for a balloon. For this flight, I carefully checked wind forecasts and ensured the conditions were safe before takeoff.

Sitara Maruf: Let’s move on to Steve Fossett’s solo Pacific flight. You worked as co-launch director. What challenges did you face?

Bruce Comstock: Having Nick Saum as a co-director made a big difference. We could share responsibilities and discuss decisions. Nick and I worked on three of Steve’s launches: the Pacific flight, and two of his round-the-world attempts, the first one from the Stratobowl, and the second one from St. Louis.

We didn’t come in at the beginning of the projects, so we often had to work with equipment and decisions already made by Steve and his team. That was frustrating at times, but our job was to ensure everything was ready and functioning, and to oversee the balloon inflation—a complex process.

The Pacific flight required Steve to fly at very high altitudes, where it gets extremely cold. Nick and I realized the propane wouldn’t vaporize at those temperatures, causing the burner to fail. From prior experiments, I knew ethane could work in cold conditions. It burns similarly to propane and mixes well with it.

Nick, a PhD from the Colorado School of Mines, was incredibly sharp when it came to science. I also have a good technical background, so we worked well together. At dinner one evening, I explained to Steve the problem and proposed a solution: blending ethane with propane. It would cost $12,000 to $14,000, and Steve simply said, “Okay, I’ll order it in the morning.”

The logistical hurdles were significant. The ethane had to be sourced from Canada, shipped to Korea, and cleared through customs. Dealing with Korean customs was complex, and Steve was opposed to bribery, but the process may have involved some—not something we were directly involved in.

Sitara Maruf: Just as the balloon was ready to launch, Steve, already in the capsule, opened the hatch and asked you to show him how to use the autopilot. What did you do—and what did you feel?

Bruce Comstock: <Laughs> That felt a little bit frustrating! But I climbed in and showed him. For this Pacific flight Steve had the “toy” analog autopilot.

Sitara Maruf: Then you came up with a better autopilot, which Steve called the “Comstock Autopilot?”

Bruce Comstock: Yes, before Steve’s next round-the-world flight attempt, I designed and built a good autopilot for Steve.  This autopilot, which Steve immediately named the “Comstock Autopilot”, was based on a single board digital computer.  It required some patience to operate. I had designed it to watch the human pilot fly the balloon first. Instead of directly using the burner valve, the balloon pilot would control the burner through a switch on the autopilot. The autopilot would then learn how much heating was necessary to maintain altitude.

When designing it, I wanted the autopilot to work with any balloon, regardless of its specifications, without needing to know anything specific about the balloon. The autopilot learned about the balloon by observing a human pilot for about a minute, although it could take longer—sometimes two minutes—depending on the flight conditions. It needed to see a sufficient amount of heating time to accurately determine the balloon’s parameters.

Once it had enough information, the autopilot would notify the pilot—via a flashing light and an audible alarm —that it had taken over. From that point, the autopilot managed the flying.

Sitara Maruf: Late in the flight over the Pacific, there was no communication from Steve for about eight hours until he sent a message saying “That’s Vancouver Island below me.  I have made the Pacific. Cheers, Steve”.  What caused the communication blackout?

Bruce Comstock: It’s our belief that he turned off the master switch to save electricity. That was strange because it shut off everything, including the transponder. He was running low on power and had a generator and some large lead-acid batteries, but I guess he was having trouble with the generator and didn’t want to risk using up all the electricity.

Turning off the master switch meant the automatic position reports also stopped. Every 30 minutes, his GPS position was supposed to be sent to the communication center in England. I was there when people started wringing their hands in despair. I told the guy in charge, “I’m not overly concerned—Steve has probably just turned off the master switch to save power.” And that’s exactly what had happened.

What’s incredible is that Bo Kemper, who had high-level contacts in Washington, called someone in the Defense Department. At the time, a U.S. fleet was conducting maneuvers near Steve’s location. Bo managed to get them to launch a plane from an aircraft carrier, and it found Steve and reported back.

Sitara Maruf: Let’s talk about Steve’s first solo round-the-world attempt. You were the launch director along with Nick Saum, and Steve also had another engineer, Andy Elson, from England. Steve launched from the Strato Bowl in South Dakota, but after flying about 100 miles over the Atlantic Ocean, a low-pressure system intensified unexpectedly. There was a snowstorm. The balloon blew back to Canada and ultimately crashed into the Bay of Fundy, and Steve was rescued by the Coast Guard.

Bruce Comstock: He didn’t exactly land in the Bay of Fundy, but he was flung back onto land after crashing down in the water. The balloon hit the water hard, and it ripped off the solar array and the generator, which were fragile. My comment at the time was that both the generator and the solar array were where they belonged—at the bottom of the Bay of Fundy!

Steve asked Nick and me to fly up to where the balloon had landed and manage getting it packed up and sent back to England. The balloon was pretty well destroyed and never flown again. When we got there, we were a little depressed about how the flight had turned out. The envelope itself had problems separate from the weather. Steve was lucky he got flung back onto land after crashing into the water.

Sitara Maruf: Was this the first time a solar array was used for electric power?

Bruce Comstock: I’m not sure, but [during preparations] when we got to the Strato Bowl, we found this big solar array—about five feet by eight feet—designed to hang beneath the capsule. It had an automatic rotator to keep it pointed at the sun, but all its weight hung on a tiny aluminum shaft in the rotator. It was ridiculous and doomed to failure. We found a machinist to make a stainless-steel part to replace it, which helped, but the whole thing was cumbersome and not a good idea.

This problem arose because we were not involved in the early decisions. The flight was doomed partly because the envelope wasn’t working properly, and partly because the electrical system was far too complicated. It had the solar panel, storage batteries, a generator, and a charge controller trying to keep everything working.

When I got to the town where we were recovering the envelope, the first thing I did was think about how to simplify things. I realized we could get rid of the solar panel, generator, and charge controller by just using good batteries. It wasn’t elegant to some people, but in my mind, it was.

We put Bo Kemper to work with his contacts in the Defense Department, and he found excellent batteries for us. They worked perfectly. They cost over $20,000 for the flight, and when they weren’t needed anymore, they were just discarded as ballast. It was simple: batteries, good wiring, and proper circuit breakers. And it worked, guaranteed.

On January 12, 1996, Bruce Comstock and Nick Saum launched Steve Fossett from St. Louis. Fossett flew halfway around the world in the complex 210,000-cubic-foot Rozière balloon, ultimately landing in India. He persevered through scattered thunderstorms and flew just far enough to set the longest distance and duration world records. “We apparently had figured out how to do this right,” recounted Comstock in his book A Life in the Air.

Sitara Maruf: Let’s take a step back. What sparked your passion for ballooning?

Bruce Comstock: It’s funny to think about now, but 55 years ago, ballooning was almost unheard of. I was mowing the lawn of my house during grad school at the University of Michigan when I saw a balloon fly by. I was stunned. My wife and I hopped into our Volkswagen and chased it. It was a tiny one-person chair balloon, flown by a plastic surgeon who lived nearby. We talked to the pilot. Balloons cost around $5,000 for a two-person model, which was completely out of reach for a grad student.

Sitara Maruf: So how did you eventually make it happen?

Bruce Comstock: A few years later, after I had a steady job, we took a $5 helicopter ride at a carnival. It was noisy, shaky, and uncomfortable, but as we flew over the woods, I kept thinking, “What would this be like in a balloon?”

When I got home, I pulled out information I’d saved about ballooning and contacted a company in South Dakota. They told me there was an instructor about an hour away from my home. That summer on weekends, I learned to fly. That’s how I earned my pilot’s license.

Sitara Maruf: You and Tucker, your wife at the time, discovered ballooning together. Did sharing that passion shape your journey?

Bruce Comstock: Oh, absolutely. Tucker is an amazing balloonist—she was inducted into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame a couple of years ago. We did everything together, and I wouldn’t have accomplished even half of what I did without her.

I actually apologized to her years later, after we divorced. I worried I had dragged her into something that was my passion, not hers. She assured me she loved the journey as much as I did. Together, we complemented each other’s strengths and made ambitious decisions, like starting a balloon manufacturing business after I won the World Championship. When I think back now, especially about the decision to manufacture balloons, I sometimes wonder, What were we thinking? (laughs) The chances of succeeding were slim, but we just went for it.

Sitara Maruf: Over your career, how have you seen ballooning evolve in terms of technology and challenges?

Bruce Comstock: Balloons today are so much better than they were 50 years ago. I competed for about 23 years continuously, and by my last decade, the equipment had drastically improved.

For example, the balloon I learned on had a burner with a heat output of about 4 million BTUs per hour on a good day. Of that, about 1 million BTUs just kept the balloon in the air. In winter, with lower fuel pressure, it was even less! By contrast, the competition balloon I flew later in my career had a double burner capable of producing 52 million BTUs per hour. That’s a huge leap in power!

But learning on that older, underpowered balloon made me a better pilot because I had to pay close attention and solve problems without relying on power I didn’t have. It taught me to stay sharp and proactive.

Sitara Maruf: What about the balloon designs themselves?

Bruce Comstock: Everything about them has improved. The balloon I learned on had an aluminum gondola with a fiberglass floor and rigid metal sides. It wasn’t forgiving—on hard landings, I’d get bruises from banging against the big 20-gallon tanks on either side.

Today’s baskets are much more sophisticated. They’re built with flexible structural elements hidden inside, which absorb impact and reduce the risk of injury during landings. The fabrics are specifically designed and engineered for use in hot air balloons. There’s really no comparison.

Sitara Maruf: Are you still involved in lighter-than-air activities or flying?

Bruce Comstock: I haven’t flown much recently. A couple of years ago, my wife and I visited Ann Arbor and stopped by the Cameron factory. Andy and his wife had a balloon set up, and I asked if I could inflate it. I promised, “I won’t burn it!” (laughs) He agreed, and after a quick briefing on the burner—because they’ve evolved over the years—I inflated the balloon. Then Andy, Karen, and I took off, and I piloted the entire flight.

Before that, I had a balloon in Oregon for a while, but flying there was challenging. It’s all small mountain valleys where you can only fly in the morning, and you can’t go too far because the retrieval gets complicated once you leave the valley. I found it boring.

Few times, I flew in California’s Shasta Valley, which is a big, flat area. There’s no wind in the morning because cold air settles into the valley overnight. I calculated that for my four flights there, my average speed was about one mile per hour. You could practically crawl at that speed! And as I have said this many times, after flying at 100 miles per hour in a balloon, it’s hard to get excited about flying at one mile per hour.

Sitara Maruf: Is there anything you’d like to add?

Bruce Comstock: I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful that I stumbled into ballooning—or got sucked into it. That led to a truly fascinating life. Now I often say that when I visit a balloon museum, I feel like one of the artifacts! (laughs)

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The Test Flight

Space Perspective’s goal is to give passengers a serene journey to the edge of space, without the intense speed, heavy G-forces, or tough training that come with rocket launches. The pressurized capsule, launched from the MS Voyager, slowly rose at 12 miles per hour, taking two hours to reach the stratosphere. It then floated at peak altitude for another two hours before making a controlled descent, landing softly in the ocean after a six-hour flight. A quick boat and crane were ready to retrieve the capsule, demonstrating the smooth and efficient operation of the space journey.

The success of the test flight was a result of five years of hard work. “Completing Development Flight 2 is a defining moment for Space Perspective,” said Taber MacCallum, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. “I’m so proud of our devoted team who has worked relentlessly to execute this mission, drawing from their deep expertise and designing solutions for never-been-seen technologies. This uncrewed flight not only proves our pioneering technology but also brings us a giant leap closer to making space accessible for everyone and reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of space travel.”

Technology and System Overview

Spaceship Neptune has three main parts: the SpaceBalloon, the pressurized capsule, and a Reserve Descent System―four parachutes between the capsule and balloon—that can activate at once if anything goes wrong, ensuring a safe landing.

The balloon was launched using a special four-roller system, which kept it steady and safe as it climbed into the stratosphere. This system allows them to operate flights year-round from anywhere in the world. The capsule designed to carry eight passengers and a pilot, is spacious with a 16-foot diameter, providing over 2,000 cubic feet of pressurized space. It also has the largest UV-protected windows ever flown into space. At its highest point, the cabin pressure stayed stable, highlighting impressive engineering in spacecraft design.

The capsule’s advanced temperature control systems kept everything comfortable during the flight, even as it faced the freezing cold of the upper atmosphere and the intense heat from the sun. The SpaceBalloon, when fully expanded, has a volume of 18,000,000 cubic feet—large enough to fit an entire football stadium. Standing over 700 feet tall at launch, the SpaceBalloon surpasses the height of the Washington Monument. Hydrogen, used as the lift gas, is both renewable and effective, marking a step toward eco-friendly space travel.

Mission Control closely monitored the operations, testing out their special software and communication systems. The spaceship’s descent is controlled by releasing just enough gas to maintain a comfortable descent speed.

Jane Poynter, co-founder of Space Perspective, shared her excitement, saying, “This flight showed how smooth and accessible the Spaceship Neptune experience is, from the gentle ascent to the splashdown.”

Looking Ahead

Space Perspective has raised $100 million from investors and adheres to safety standards set by the FAA, U.S. Coast Guard, and NASA. Notably, Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, is also one of their investors. On October 17, the company announced that Branson will join co-founders Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum as a co-pilot for the first crewed mission of Spaceship Neptune. Branson has a long history of bold adventures and record-breaking feats in both business and exploration. In ballooning, his memorable achievements are his hot-air balloon flights with Per Lindstrand, crossing the Atlantic in 1987 and the Pacific in 1991.

Space Perspective plans to run a few more test flights before taking people up in 2025, with regular commercial flights starting in 2026. They’ve already sold over 1,800 tickets, each costing $125,000.

According to Jane Poynter, the best views will be during predawn departures, when ‘explorers’ can marvel at the starscape before sunrise, and then watch the Sun light up the Earth’s curvature, highlighting the bright blue line of our atmosphere, and the dark vastness of space. Passengers will have a nearly 360-degree view, stretching 450 miles in every direction through the panoramic windows. The six-hour flight offers many opportunities to take photos, enjoy meals and drinks, and even livestream the journey to share with loved ones on Earth. And for those who need a bathroom break, there’s the ‘Space Spa’ with an unparalleled view of the universe.

Space tourism is a new frontier for adventurous explorers, but the idea of traveling by a thin polyethylene balloon can make people nervous. A common question is, ‘What if the balloon tears or pops?’ Well, Space Perspective has an answer. They use SpaceBalloon technology, which has been tested over 1,000 times by NASA and other organizations, so it’s proven to be very safe. The balloon is a ‘zero-pressure’ type, meaning there’s no pressure difference between the inside and the outside, so it can’t actually pop. Even if it punctures, the balloon will just slowly descend and land safely, ensuring everyone on board is secure. The backup Reserve Descent System, with parachutes that have brought people and equipment back safely from space over 1,000 times, adds another layer of safety.

Some people are concerned about using hydrogen because it’s highly flammable. Space Perspective explains they had two options for lifting Spaceship Neptune—helium or hydrogen. Helium is safe, but it’s also a non-renewable gas and is in short supply. It’s needed for important medical equipment like MRIs, so using it for space travel would compete with those critical needs.

Hydrogen, on the other hand, is a renewable resource and is now widely used in fuel cells, vehicles, and even airplanes worldwide. Modern balloon technology has come a long way since the Hindenburg airship disaster in 1937. The tragedy happened because the airship wasn’t designed to safely use hydrogen—hydrogen mixed with air, creating a combustible situation, which was then ignited by a spark that led to the fire. Today, however, hydrogen balloons are designed with advanced safety measures, and thousands of flights are conducted safely every year. Hydrogen has become a reliable and proven option for balloon travel.

For those wondering, ‘Is 100,000 feet really space?’ Technically, it’s not. The official boundary, called the Kármán line, is at 328,084 feet, or 100 kilometers, above sea level. But at 100,000 feet, you’re already above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere, and for practical purposes—like the breathtaking view, the conditions for human safety, and the sense of being beyond Earth—you are in space. Passengers get to experience an incredible, otherworldly view that very few have seen before. Plus, at that altitude, the flight meets U.S. regulations to be classified as a spacecraft.

In addition to tourism, the company supports scientific research by planning to carry research equipment alongside passengers in future flights. The largely unexplored stratosphere offers numerous opportunities for new experiments and discoveries. Their team has been part of developing every U.S. human spacecraft over the past 40 years. They use patented technologies based on designs tested by NASA and other organizations—proven to handle payloads even heavier than the Spaceship Neptune capsule.

Space Perspective, based on Florida’s Space Coast, was founded by Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, veterans of human spaceflight and original members of the Biosphere 2 project. Their background includes developing environmental control systems for the International Space Station (ISS) through their company, Paragon Space Development Corporation. In 2014, their StratEx team launched Alan Eustace to 135,908 feet under a space balloon, breaking the Red Bull Stratos record for the highest space dive. With decades of experience, the Space Perspective team is pushing the boundaries of space tourism, making it accessible to more people than ever before.

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Modern weather forecasting may benefit from cutting-edge technology like radar and satellites, but it also builds on practices that date back centuries. Our quest to understand the atmosphere began in 1749 in Europe, where scientists used kites to carry thermometers to upper altitudes. By flying these kites high, they were able to gather valuable data on the upper air.

A few years later, in 1752, Benjamin Franklin famously flew a kite during a thunderstorm, to prove the electrical nature of lightning. This marked the beginning of a fascinating journey, leading to remarkable advancements in weather observation and atmospheric science.

In 1780s France, the invention of the hot air balloon and gas balloon quickly became a tool to study the atmosphere. Scientists boarded balloon baskets and ascended into the atmosphere with instruments like barometers and thermometers to study the atmosphere’s structure, chemistry, and behavior. While these manned flights offered valuable insights, they were perilous—extreme cold, lack of oxygen, and inadequate equipment led to serious injuries and even deaths. Despite the risks, these early ascents laid crucial groundwork for meteorological science.

Since the early days of ballooning, various measurements were taken during flights. However, one of the first documented uses of balloons specifically for weather measurement was by French meteorologist Léon Teisserenc de Bort. Beginning in 1896, he actively launched weather balloons, and his pioneering work led to the discovery of the tropopause and the stratosphere. This breakthrough later became the foundation for the widespread use of weather balloons in atmospheric research.

As the 19th century progressed, kites continued to be valuable tools for atmospheric observation. By the late 1800s, the United States Weather Bureau and other organizations had established kite observation stations, where kites lifted meteorological instruments into the sky. These “meteorographs” recorded pressure, temperature, and humidity. However, kites had their limitations. They could only reach altitudes of about 3 kilometers (9843 feet), and the data could not be analyzed until the kite was brought back to earth. Moreover, weather conditions had to be just right—not too calm, not too stormy—or the kite could break loose and cause potential harm below.

By the late 19th century, meteorographs had advanced enough to be carried by free-floating, unmanned balloons. These balloons soared to the stratosphere, reaching heights far beyond the capabilities of kites. Yet, this method had its own challenges. Once the balloon burst due to high internal pressure, the meteorograph would fall to the ground, where it might remain for days, weeks, or forever, depending on whether it was found.

The early 20th century saw a shift from kites to aircraft for atmospheric observations. Between 1925 and 1943, the Weather Bureau and the Army Air Corps operated a network of 30 aircraft stations across the United States. These planes carried meteorographs, but like kites, they could only fly in good weather, and data could not be analyzed until the plane returned to base. Despite reaching altitudes of up to 5 kilometers, the limitations of aircraft observations prompted scientists to seek more reliable methods.

The answer came in the form of weather balloons. By the 1930s, scientists had developed radio transmitters to suspend from weather balloons, leading to the creation of radiosondes—devices that transmitted real-time weather data back to earth.

World War II further accelerated the need for upper-air data, driving rapid advancements in radiosonde technology. By 1937, the Weather Bureau had established a network of radiosonde stations that continues to operate today. Radiosondes, tracked during flight to provide wind data, became known as “rawinsonde” observations, which contributed to weather forecasts and increased understanding of atmospheric processes. However, in the early days of rawinsonde stations, the valuable data they collected for weather forecasting was challenging to analyze. Without computer processing systems, this task was labor-intensive and time-consuming. The process relied heavily on manual work, making it less efficient.

A groundbreaking discovery in atmospheric science emerged in the 1950s, thanks to the pioneering efforts of James Van Allen. Known for his numerous weather balloon experiments, Van Allen also conducted critical research using “rockoons” (rockets launched from high-altitude balloons) to explore cosmic radiation and Earth’s upper atmosphere. These experiments provided the first hint of radiation belts surrounding Earth. In 1958, instruments designed by Van Allen on the Explorer 1 satellite confirmed the existence of these intense radiation belts, which were later named the Van Allen Belts. Formed by Earth’s magnetosphere, these belts protect our planet from harmful solar winds and storms.

Over the years, computing technology transformed many industries, including meteorology. By 1980, advancements in telemetry and computers had made rawinsonde observations nearly automated, reducing the need for manual work. Today, weather balloons remain an essential tool for meteorologists, with about 70,000 launches each year in North America alone. These floating weather stations carry advanced instruments—such as thermometers, barometers, hygrometers, cameras, and even telescopes—high into the atmosphere. In the U.S., 92 sites launch weather balloons twice daily as part of the Global Radiosonde Network, which includes 900 sites worldwide.

Nowadays, weather data comes from a variety of sources, including satellites, weather stations, balloons, aircraft, and radar systems. Weather forecasting starts with observing the current atmosphere. Sensors on land, sea, air, and in space collect billions of data points daily, giving meteorologists a complete view of the planet. In the U.S., 90% of this data comes from satellites, but other tools are equally important.  

On land, the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at airports measures weather conditions, while Doppler radars track precipitation. At sea, buoys monitor sea temperature and wave heights, crucial for predicting storms like nor’easters and hurricanes. Additionally, commercial aircraft equipped with sensors gather weather data during flights. In the air, weather balloons launched daily across the country measure conditions beyond 15,000 feet.

Meteorologists gather all this information and, most of the time, can create accurate short- and long-term weather forecasts. From simple kites to sophisticated weather balloons, humanity’s quest to explore the atmosphere has paved the way for today’s advanced atmospheric research, which now extends to the edges of outer space.

Featured Image: Meteorologist Sid King, NOAA

Sitara Maruf
Sitara@ltaflightmagazine.com

They were equipped with high-tech communication and tracking devices, but they would fly without the aid of pressurized or floating capsules. Their basic essentials included a camping stove for cooking and winter coats to combat the freezing temperatures.

Bert Padelt chose Presque Isle as the launch site due to its northern location with favorable winds to Europe and for its historical significance as the launch site for Double Eagle II’s transatlantic balloon flight. Additionally, being nearly 200 miles inland allows pilots to assess the balloon’s performance before advancing over the Atlantic.
The launch preparations were exhilarating, and Bert was overwhelmed with emotions. “My past experiences on many projects of this magnitude did not prepare me for this. I used to be the one inflating the balloon; now, I was in bed, struggling to calm my mind for some sleep,” said Bert.

From his bedroom window, Bert watched the launch site. Unable to sleep, he left the window open to hear the hydrogen inflating the balloon. He woke two hours later to see the balloon standing tall. Still too excited to sleep, he followed the launch preparations on Facebook, where spectators shared videos from the site.

Later, Bert walked to the field and was filled with pride at the sight of the balloon he and his wife Joanie had built, now filled to 80 percent capacity and glowing under the floodlights. The smiling faces of his dedicated team, comprising expert balloon pilots and locals organized by Paul Cyr for parking and inflation, brought him great satisfaction.

Final Preparations and Launch

They would fly under 20,000 feet, typically considered a low to mid-level flight. “That is the classiest way to fly a balloon across the Atlantic. You are in the elements, not flying above the weather, but in it,” said Bert Padelt in an interview with Sitara Maruf. Ideal weather for such a flight is typically in early fall or summer. So, they decided to try the flight in June. “Our thoughts, along with the meteorologists, were that the water temperatures wouldn’t be warming up yet, reducing the chance of convective activity,” explained Bert.  

Wim De Troyer served as the meteorologist.  In addition, Bert also consulted with his good friend and U.S. meteorologist Don Day.  The briefing on Thursday evening showed promising flight prospects for a Friday evening launch, with no thunderstorms and a perfect forecast confirmed by both meteorologists.

On Friday morning, every weather track looked favorable for their 10 PM launch to Europe. The plan was to ascend to 6,000 to 8,000 feet on the first day and then go up 2,000 feet per day, aiming to land in France or northern Spain in four days. “That was ideal for the way the balloon is designed,” said Bert.  The prediction was that they would enter Europe at 17,000 feet with an average speed of 25 miles per hour.

David tried to get some sleep. “I was excited and anxious, so it didn’t work. We must have had 50 people in the team working with us. Very humbling,” said David, who had earlier pulled Bert away from the crowd and urged him to rest before the long flight ahead.

Just before launch came the unexpected weather update from Wim. “Instead of climbing to 6,000 to 8,000 feet, he now wanted 8,000 to 10,000 feet, meaning we would have to lose more ballast before launch,” said David. “So right there, we’re knocking a day off the balloon’s duration,” added Bert.

Before launch, a gas balloon is weighed off so that on launch it rises to a specific height, reaching equilibrium between the weight of the balloon, the volume of the gas giving the lift, and the air pressure at a specific altitude.

During the final preparations, Bert sent out a thank you message to all their supporters. “The dream is about to take a major step. I am excited!” he said. John Piper recited the balloonist’s prayer, and they took off in their balloon N56US at 02:35 UTC (local time10:35 PM). “The balloon rose majestically into the night sky; well over a thousand people on the ground were clapping and cheering,” said Clive Bailey, from the Flight Control Center in Bristol.

Joanie looked visibly shaken, and Ros Smith stood speechless beside her as the balloon ascended, eventually resembling a flashing star in the sky.

The first 24 hours of a gas balloon flight are crucial, especially with an ocean ahead. Kevin Stass from Mission Control coordinated with aviation authorities, air traffic control, and search and rescue centers to ensure a safe and clear corridor for the balloon’s journey. “Although any rescue required would be automatically triggered by the activation of the Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) carried by the crew, it is important to give the SAR units as much information as possible before a (hopefully) unlikely event,” Kevin noted.

The balloon was equipped with sophisticated tracking and communication devices. “We have two Yellow Bricks that will give position and altitude reports at intervals of anywhere from 10 seconds to 2 hours, an inReach for position and text messages, and two independent satellite phones for communication with our control center,” said David. They also carried an HF radio, similar to the Double Eagle II balloon team.

The Flight

Bert flew the balloon while David handled the radio communication with Presque Isle and Boston ATC. “Gas balloon N56US,” he called out. “Hello, we have been expecting you,” came the reply, wishing them good luck. For the first few hours, the balloon was settling in, going up and down, but it flew beautifully, and Bert was very happy with its performance. Frederik went to sleep right away.

As they climbed, it got colder. Then came another unexpected weather update from Clive in the control room. “Once we were in the air, 10,000 feet wasn’t giving Wim the direction he wanted. He needed a 90-degree or 80-degree heading, but ours was closer to 75 degrees. His concern was that we would be north of Gander, missing the tracks needed to reach France and heading into a storm in Scotland with poor landing conditions. So, we had to go higher. I decided to wait until sunrise to see if we would get any superheating.”

To stay south of Gander, they would need to climb to 12,000 feet or higher by jettisoning valuable ballast. “The duration of a flight depends on the amount of ballast you have remaining, so it’s important to conserve it, especially early in the flight,” reflected David.

Once they entered Canada, David took a three-hour nap. It was decided that Bert would fly the balloon until sunrise to see how it was performing. Their communication system Starlink performed flawlessly and provided clear WhatsApp video calls.

At sunrise, the sky was overcast, a condition forecasted to persist for two days, preventing any superheating from sunlight. “To achieve the desired heading, Wim proposed climbing to altitudes of 12,000, then 13,000, and 14,000 feet the next day,” Bert noted. Even at these altitudes over the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there was no guarantee of finding the 90-degrees heading. “The frustrations on flights like these may come in the middle or end of the flight, but not within the first six to 24 hours. It’s expected that the tail end of the flight is not going to be what it looked like when you took off, but the first 12 to 24 hours should go as forecast. So early in the flight, you don’t expect to make dramatic changes and sacrifice ballast,” explained Bert.

What if they had to make many such maneuvers across the Atlantic? Bert quickly did the math. “If we didn’t need more maneuvering, we’d have about 10 bags left entering Europe after the last sunset ballasting. That would be enough to land the balloon. But what if we had another forced climb? A 2,000-foot climb would use those 10 bags. For estimating ballast at the end of the flight, you consider the worst-case scenario, so I was thinking conservatively. It would be very close, and we might not have enough ballast,” he thought.

The Decision to Land

Just before David woke up, Bert had spoken with Clive, who emphasized the need to climb higher. However, Bert decided not to jettison any more ballast, maintaining the balloon’s altitude between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. The sun appeared for five minutes before disappearing behind thick clouds. With an overcast sky forecasted for the next two days and the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence rapidly approaching, they concluded that landing the balloon quickly was the right decision.

David nearly cried at the thought of his friend Bert giving up his dream of crossing the Atlantic. Drawing on his 40 years of ballooning experience, Bert was confident that a good decision for a pilot involves safely landing the crew, passengers (especially Frederik, who weighed heavily on his mind), and the aircraft.

After flying 125 nautical miles, he began a steep descent, looking for a safe landing spot. The area lacked civilization. “From 10,000 feet, we had little time to get down before reaching the coast. I piloted the largest gas balloon I’ve ever flown, descending at 1,200 feet per minute, leveled it out, and landed on a dirt road, with trees on either side. The balloon and all of the equipment came back intact,” said Bert. It was 09:41 UTC (6:41 AM local time) when they landed at Christies Landing, in New Brunswick, Canada.

They kept the balloon standing for as long as possible, then lightened the load before moving it to an open area by a cabin. “We started removing equipment while I vented hydrogen to keep the balloon heavy. After two or three hours, it got windy, so I pulled the deflation port and brought the balloon down. It was a good decision, as the wind reached 25 knots while we waited for the crew to arrive.

The Retrieval

The retrieval crew in Presque Isle had gone to bed at 2 AM. Around 5 AM, Ros received a call from Clive: “Hello darling, they’re landing. The weather’s changed, and they won’t have enough ballast.” Joanie and others quickly arranged cars and collected the trailer from Paul’s, setting out on a four-hour drive to retrieve the crew and the balloon.

The balloon had come down in a remote area with only trees, shrubs, and logging tracks. “It felt like we were lost in a complex maze, the center always close but never in reach,” said Ros. Many tracks were blocked by water or impassable, even though Jason Fischer was using satellite images from Google Maps to guide them.

When they found the crew, they had a brew on, the balloon laid out, sandbags emptied, and the kit organized, ready to pack. They had been on the ground for six hours. “They were exactly the same people that we had waved off at the launch site and treated both the excitement of launch and the disappointment of an early landing with complete equanimity. Despite the sleeplessness and disappointment, they were still calm, charming, warm, solid men,” said Ros.

Reflection and Gratitude

According to Jason, Bert Padelt’s aircraft had performed flawlessly; the teams, navigation, and communication all worked as designed.

Bert Padelt had envisioned doing such a flight “without being under the microscope,” but since they had sponsorship, this was not the case. The adventure’s expenses were sponsored by Torabhaig Single Malt Whisky, owned by Dr. Frederik Paulsen. However, everyone involved participated voluntarily without any payment. “Having a sponsor means the world is watching your every move.  I was disappointed to come back after all the exposure.  I was also disappointed for the people of Presque Isle, who were so supportive and came to express their gratitude. Many of them were there when the Double Eagle II took off, and I was giving them back a memory,” said Bert. 

Looking back, Bert mentioned he wouldn’t have done anything differently in terms of preparation or execution, except for minor adjustments like fewer people on the inflation team, or the way some equipment was placed.

David, who has flown solo over the Atlantic Ocean twice in an open basket, says he owes his successes to Bert Padelt’s expertise and involvement in his flights. “I have been involved with several Atlantic flights; none have been so well organized. None, on takeoff, had such a good forecast, and on not one did the forecast become so unstable and change so quickly. The weather has been so cruel,” said David.

Did they encounter an “inversion,” where a warmer air layer above cooler air causes the balloon to lose altitude? Although Wim had mentioned an inversion above them, Bert was not convinced the balloon was being affected by this inversion and did not feel the balloon was using additional ballast. 

Bert agrees that the weather has been fluctuating more nowadays than it was in the 1970s or 80s. The crew had consulted top weather experts who used advanced technology, including powerful computers and satellite data from across the North Atlantic. “When I was involved with Steve Fossett’s around-the-world flight, we would occasionally have to cancel the first identified good weather window and wait for the next one. However, four days out, everything would line up, giving us confidence, and it did not suddenly change. This was true for all seven of his attempts that I was involved in…only one instance there was a thunderstorm. This year could be a fluke, I don’t know. Last year, we had all the hurricanes that presented a problem in September, which is why we decided to go in June.” he said.

This year preparations resumed in May 2024, but weather forecasts continued to fluctuate rapidly. Two weeks before their June 28th launch, David and his team flew to Presque Isle on June 15th for a potential launch on 16^th night or 17^th morning. However, soon after they boarded the flight, they received an email from Wim, marking 17th as “red” for takeoff.

Bert believes flying higher in the jet stream makes crossing the Atlantic by balloon easier and quicker than at lower altitudes, where weather challenges are more common. Despite the difficulties, he remains committed to the dream. “It’s all doable. Maybe next year, and if Torabhaig continues to sponsor us, the weather will be kind and favorable to us”, he hopes. 

“The success I’ve had in ballooning has not come without failures,” says Bert. “And this failure was seen by a lot of people. I call it a failure because we didn’t make it across, but it’s not a failure in the sense that all equipment operated smoothly and is intact, the balloon’s design is sound, and it flew beautifully, and all participants are safe. So, if you want to call it a test flight, it was very successful.”

Moreover, “those six hours in the air were the happiest six hours of my life,” he adds. These hours were intensely personal, a time for reflection on his childhood dreams of flight. “As a young kid, I would fantasize, closing my eyes and imagining what it must be like to take off and spend the first night in a balloon flying across Canada.” For him, those six hours were about living in the moment, fully embracing and enjoying every minute of his long-anticipated experience.

In a blog post on the Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Diary 2024, written a week after their flight, David reflects, “The weather we would have encountered at the proposed time of landing looks horrendous. Even if we had made landfall, which is doubtful, it certainly wouldn’t have been a stand-up landing for sure. For me, this reconfirms that we made the right decision.”

In a contemplative tone, Sir David Hempleman-Adams captures the essence of their endeavor, acknowledging that the dream transcends the pilots themselves.

This article features quotes and content from an interview with Bert Padelt and the Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer Diary 2024, used with permission from Sarah Belizaire-Butler.

Feature photo credit: Paul Cyr

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The Kindle version of the book, “Just Wind: Tales of Two Pilots Under Pressure” by William G. Armstrong Jr. was released last year and is as relevant today as it was at its first print publication in 2003. Armstrong’s meticulous and balanced recounting of these high-flying adventures ensures that this book appeals to seasoned balloonists, curious newcomers, and anyone intrigued by adventure, drama, innovation, and the resilience of the human spirit.

With humor, detail, and surprising candor, the stratospheric expeditions of two pioneering balloonists, Tom Gatch and Larry Newman, are recounted from an insider’s perspective, as the author served as the publicist for both projects. Armstrong’s experience—as a commercial pilot for gas and hot air balloons, a writer/editor, and an executive in several national ballooning organizations—adds depth and authenticity to the narrative, offering a rare and intimate glimpse into the world of high-stakes ballooning.

Tom Gatch emerges as a pioneering figure in ballooning, renowned for his innovative use of super-pressure balloon technologyand daring spirit. Larry Newman, on the other hand, represents the competitive and record-setting side of ballooning. His ambitious attempts to break records and achieve new heights are detailed with an intensity that reflects the highly stressful nature of these extreme endeavors.

Armstrong writes with a fluidity that draws readers into the narrative, blending technical details with rich, character-driven stories. He is candid and objective, presenting his subjects with a balanced view that highlights their positive qualities and their human flaws. This authenticity allows readers to connect with the characters on a personal level.

Tom Gatch’s Daring Atlantic Attempt

 The book opens with the gripping story of Tom Gatch, a self-reliant and determined balloonist who set out solo in 1974 to be the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean using a 10-balloon cluster. Financing his venture independently, he meticulously prepared for the flight, equipping his aircraft, Light Heart, with the necessary supplies and navigation tools. Launching from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Gatch’s flight initially showed promise as he navigated the jet stream’s favorable winds. However, an hour after takeoff, high over the ocean at night, one balloon in his cluster ruptured, presenting a significant threat that required quick thinking and resource management. 

Communication with Gatch became sporadic during the next day, and he eventually disappeared without a trace.The subsequent search by the U.S. Department of Defense yielded no results, leaving Gatch’s fate a mystery and his attempt a poignant reminder of the risks inherent in pioneering aviation. Armstrong captures the tension and paints a vivid picture of the relentless pressure faced by Gatch. The narrative not only highlights the technical aspects but also delves into Gatch’s emotional and psychological journey, making it a gripping read.

Larry Newman’s Transglobal Attempts

The Earthwinds project, a major focus of the book, represents the zenith of ballooning ambition. The goal in the 1990s was to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the world. Newman, who had already been part of crews that crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific, led an international crew in the Earthwinds balloon, aiming to achieve the first non-stop flight around the world. This heavily marketed and expensive expedition showcased the complexities and dangers of stratospheric ballooning.

Newman often claimed that his 354-foot-tall double-balloon with a pressurized three-man capsule was more complex to fly than the Space Shuttle. Armstrong meticulously documents the three attempts made by the Earthwinds team, each fraught with its own unique set of challenges and setbacks. The author’s detailed recounting of the technical aspects, the emotional highs and lows, and the logistical hurdles offers readers a comprehensive understanding of the dedication and effort required for such extraordinary feats.

Moreover, Armstrong situates the Earthwinds project within the broader context of the 1990s, a period marked by renewed interest in round-the-world ballooning. Several teams were vying for this achievement, leading to fierce competition and significant technological advancements. The preparations involved sophisticated weather prediction models, advanced balloon designs, and international collaborations, all meticulously documented in the book.

Through his engaging and informative narration, the author effectively conveys the significant impact of two major sponsors on these ambitious ballooning endeavors. Barron Hilton, a hotel magnate and aviation enthusiast, played a crucial role in supporting the Earthwinds ballooning expeditions. Hilton’s involvement extended beyond financial backing, providing essential resources and logistical support. Richard Branson, the entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group, renowned for his successful hot air balloon crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with Per Lindstrand, contributed his flair for publicity and adventurous spirit to these round-the-world ballooning projects.

Readers will find that Armstrong not only documents the tales of Tom Gatch and Larry Newman but also delves into the stories of other crew members, engineers, scientists, media personnel, and volunteers involved in the projects. Through their narratives, he brings a human element to the story, exploring their motivations, challenges, and personal growth throughout their journeys. “Just Wind: Tales of Two Pilots Under Pressure” is a riveting account for anyone interested in adventure, innovation, and the indomitable human spirit.

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In 1926, the first confirmed crossing of the North Pole was achieved, not by land or sea, but from the air. This historic flight was made by the airship Norge, a dirigible steered by the skilled Italian pilot and airship engineer, Colonel Umberto Nobile. The 16-man expedition, aboard the Norge also included the famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who served as the navigator and expedition leader, and American millionaire explorer Lincoln Ellsworth, who helped finance the expedition.

Amundsen, already celebrated for traversing the Northwest Passage and reaching the South Pole, sought to conquer the North Pole. In 1925, he contacted Nobile to build a specially designed airship for this mission. However, a project of this magnitude required the approval of Benito Mussolini, the leader of Fascist Italy, who granted his consent.

On May 14, 1926, the Norge successfully crossed over the North Pole and continued on to Alaska and then Seattle. Despite the shared glory, media attention often favored the dashing Colonel Nobile over Amundsen, leading to tensions.  Filled with pride following the success of the Norge expedition, the Italian authorities enlisted Nobile for another Arctic venture in 1928, this time aboard the airship Italia. The plan was to fly the airship from King’s Bay in Norway to Greenland, then follow the 27th meridian to the North Pole, and onward to North America. Nobile’s mission was meticulously planned and scientifically equipped.

On May 23, 1928, the airship Italia, equipped with scientific instruments, a crew of sixteen, three scientists, survival gear, and Nobile’s dog Titania, took off early in the morning. Their journey began with a successful flight to Cape Bridgman on Greenland’s north-east coast, where they arrived on a sunny afternoon by 5:30 p.m. Then they turned north towards the Pole aided by a strong tailwind. Just after midnight on May 24, they circled the North Pole, dropping Italian and Milanese flags and a heavy wooden cross from the Pope.

The initial triumph soon gave way to a critical decision point. A disagreement arose over the next course of action: Swedish meteorologist Malgren suggested a return to King’s Bay to continue their exploratory flights, while Nobile wanted to fly to the United States. Malgren’s advice prevailed, and they headed back towards Spitsbergen. At 2:30 am, the return flight began, but quickly turned perilous. Ice began forming on the airship’s envelope and they encountered increasing headwinds and thick clouds.

As the airship struggled for eight hours in clouds, fog, and wind, the controls malfunctioned. Nobile ordered to stop the engines for repairs and allowed the airship to rise above the clouds. As they emerged from the fog at 3609 feet in bright sunshine, they could check their location. However, the sun’s heat, was causing the gas to expand and some of it was being expelled through the automatic valves. To prevent further loss, Nobile ordered his crew to bring the airship to a lower altitude, but the foggy conditions below caused the remaining gas to contract, making the airship heavy and unmanageable.

Tragically, on May 25th at 11 am, the Italia crashed onto the Arctic ice, breaking off the control car and the rear engine gondola. The crash left one crew member dead, nine injured, and six missing, as the detached hull of the airship drifted away, never to be seen again. The Italia had crashed 140 miles northeast of Spitsbergen.

Nobile was also among the nine injured survivors. They pitched a red tent, designed to be seen from afar, and waited for help. Though they managed to send out a distress signal, they were not certain if anyone would receive it. Fortunately, a Russian ham radio operator picked up their S.O.S., but it took an agonizingly long time to organize and dispatch a relief expedition to rescue the Italia crew.

Approximately 1,500 people from eight countries were involved in a massive international rescue effort. Despite this, it was weeks after the crash before an Italian rescue plane finally spotted them in their red tent and dropped some supplies. Roald Amundsen, the explorer who had accompanied Nobile on their pioneering flight over the North Pole in 1926, joined the extensive international rescue mission to locate the Italia and its crew. He boarded a French plane as part of the search efforts, but tragically, the aircraft disappeared, and Amundsen’s body was never recovered.

A Swedish two-seater plane later landed on the ice and could only take one person. Nobile, despite his reluctance, was persuaded to leave due to his injuries, a decision that would later haunt him. He was promised that his crew would be rescued immediately after, but the Swedish pilot Lundberg could not fulfill his promise as his returning aircraft crashed by the survivors’ tent.

Nineteen days later, the Soviet icebreaker Krassin finally reached the remaining survivors. By that time, one of them, a Swedish meteorologist, had succumbed to exhaustion, hunger, and frostbite—or so the other survivors claimed. However, skeptics suspected cannibalism.

The survivors had endured forty-five grueling days on the ice. The catastrophe was a major humiliation for the Italian Fascist government. Nobile’s early rescue turned him into a scapegoat.  In a rushed court inquiry, led by Air Minister Balbo, Nobile was unjustly  blamed and wasn’t even summoned to defend himself. Devastated, he resigned from the Italian Air Force and left Italy in the 1930s, accepting an invitation from the Soviet Union to assist with their airship production. He lived there until the onset of World War II. One of his aims was to return to the crash site to recover the bodies of his missing crew, a goal that remained unfulfilled.

 After the war, the report that had blamed Nobile for the 1928 crash was discredited, and he was reinstated in the air force. He resumed teaching at the University of Naples and served as a deputy in the Italian Constituent Assembly in 1946.

However, despite his vindication and achievements, his reputation suffered greatly. It’s worth noting that Nobile had successfully piloted the airship Norge and had reached the North Pole in 1926, showcasing his remarkable skill in navigating the treacherous Arctic terrain. Additionally, his airship Italia also had reached the North Pole, but the tragic accident on the return journey tarnished his legacy, resulting in significant damage to his reputation.

Nobile’s story remains a poignant chapter in the history of both polar exploration and Lighter-than-Air (LTA) aviation, illustrating the triumphs and tribulations of early 20th-century adventurers. Operating LTA crafts is exceptionally challenging, as pilots must contend with harsh and dangerous natural elements that can easily render the craft useless. Despite the adversity and controversy, Nobile’s legacy endures as a testament to the bravery and resilience of those who pushed the boundaries of human exploration.

Featured Image Attribution:
“Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-05738 / Georg Pahl / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE”

In the heart of Moffett Field, California, where the historic hangar doors creak with the weight of aviation history, Pathfinder 1, a cutting-edge modern airship is taking shape at LTA Research (LTA)—an aerospace R&D company backed by Google cofounder Sergey Brin. This diverse team is dedicated to advancing airship technology with a clear mission: to expand and complement humanitarian relief in disaster areas and pave the way for clean transportation.

On November 8^th, Pathfinder 1, the largest aircraft built since the 1930s emerged from its WW2-era Hangar Two at NASA’s Moffett Field, ready for some outdoor evaluation. It was guided by ropes held by a large team of engineers, technicians, and ground crew. Then it was rolled back in. The white, sleek, rigid airship with an elongated hull, reminiscent of the iconic airships of the past and with a gondola-like cabin suspended below, stretches an impressive 400 feet in length and 66 feet at its widest. Pathfinder 1 is a test airship that combines old-fashioned design, new materials, and advanced engineering. This prototype, if successful, will bring a new generation of larger airships to flight. 

The testing unfolded as expected. The initial objective was to understand how the experimental airship with its one million cubic feet of helium and weather-resistant polymer skin, would react to the heating impact of California’s sunlight. When the sun warmed its skin, the airship superheated, expanded, and got lighter. Powered by small electric motors, it smoothly moved in different directions. “It performed really well,” LTA CEO Alan Weston told Mercury News.  Weston is a veteran in the aerospace field and has a passion for pushing boundaries.In the 1970s, he pursued engineering at the University of Oxford. His career unfolded at the US Air Force, contributing to the strategic defense initiative, commonly known as Star Wars. Weston joined NASA Ames Research Center in 2006 and led over 50 missions, including the development of a low-cost lunar lander. At the Ames Research Center, Weston and Brin developed a professional acquaintance, finding common ground in their shared interest in airship technology.

Modern transportation often leaves a significant carbon footprint, with the aviation industry alone emitting nearly 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) annually. At LTA, the focus is on constructing airships that are not only safer and stronger but also environmentally efficient. LTA envisions a future where zero-emission airships play a pivotal role in supporting and expediting disaster response and relief efforts. These airships can land and take off vertically, even when runways, roads, and ports are damaged, delivering vital supplies to communities in need. If cellphone towers are knocked out, these airships can hover above and provide much-needed communication services.

“It’s been 10 years of blood, sweat and tears,” Weston told TechCrunch on the eve of the unveiling. “Now we must show that this can reliably fly in real-world conditions. And we’re going to do that.”

The initial stages of testing will involve tethered flights to ensure the airship’s readiness. Subsequently, Pathfinder 1 will fly several FAA-approved missions within a restricted zone, not exceeding 1,500 feet over the south side of the San Francisco Bay area, where it won’t interfere with any regular air traffic.

Currently, LTA’s certified airship pilots, flight test engineers, and seasoned ground crew are engaged in rigorous testing and training, preparing for an upcoming extended outdoor flight. Acknowledging the vital role of the ground crew, their skill in guiding the airship in and out of the hangar, and during take-off and landing is deemed as important as the expertise of certified airship pilots.

The Birth and Resurgence of Airships

In the realm of aviation, the first aircraft invented were hot air balloons and gas balloons in 1783 in France. Now, when we talk about lighter-than-air aviation (basically, things that float in the air), there are two main types of aircraft: balloons and airships. Both rise and float due to buoyancy, meaning their total weight is less than the air they displace.
Balloons, both in the past and present, lack engines, but pilots can make them go up or down by changing the amount of gas or hot air inside the balloon. Though they cannot steer it like a car, skilled pilots can control their course and height by riding different air currents at different altitudes.

Since balloons are not navigable, the 19th century saw continued attempts to add methods of propulsion to balloons.  Henri Giffard, a visionary French engineer, crafted the first navigable airship in 1852, propelling it forward with a steam-powered engine. However, practical airships only became a reality with the introduction of the gasoline engine in 1896. Alberto Santos-Dumont continued this legacy in 1898 by developing a gasoline-powered airship. Thus, entered the airship, a powered LTA craft born from the fusion of elongated balloons and engines.

Airships evolved into three forms: the nonrigid blimp, the semirigid vessel offering improved stability, and the rigid giant known as the Zeppelin. The non-rigid blimps rely on the pressure of the gas within, such as helium or hydrogen to maintain their form. On the other hand, semirigid airships introduce a subtle framework, providing some structural support, while rigid airships (aka Zeppelins) have a full rigid structure to ensure steadfast stability.

Typically, as seen with many innovations, the military swiftly identified practical applications for both the balloon and the airship. In the early 20^th century, among various countries engaged in airship construction, the United States stood out as the primary producer of these innovative aerial vehicles. Airships played a role in World War I for military reconnaissance and even bombing missions. Certain massive U.S. Navy airships had the capacity to transport a fleet of biplanes and refuel them using a hook system.

Once the war ended, airships found commercial success, becoming symbols of luxury travel. They were the marvels of the sky and were at the height of travel innovation in the 1920s and 1930s, offering an exhilarating way for sightseeing and traveling over long distances. In fact, the world’s first airline DELAG established in Germany in 1909, pioneered a new era in airship travel. The company offered the world’s first transatlantic passenger airline service, using LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin, which completed an impressive 143 Atlantic crossings before being retired after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937.

The golden era of airships declined in the 1930s, due to the rise of airplanes and some tragic disasters such as the storm-related losses of the helium-filled airships USS Macon and USS Akron, and the explosive incident involving the hydrogen-filled airship, the Hindenburg.

Today, few companies remain in the airship business. The iconic Goodyear blimps, a remnant of a bygone era, still grace the skies during major events, serving as a floating billboard for advertising.

The last airship was built by the Navy in 1960, in the Akron Airdock. By this time, airships were no longer employed for passenger or cargo transport and their use in the military also decreased. However, the past 20 years has seen a resurgence of interest in airships, with various projects and innovations emerging globally.
In 2006, the U.S. Navy resumed airship flights, after a 44-year hiatus. In 2010, the U.S. Army awarded a $517 million contract to Northrop Grumman and UK’s Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) for a Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) system, but the program was scrapped for lack of funds and HAV bought the rights to the project. After years of research and development, Airlander 10, the hybrid airship, went through a complete transformation, and it is being tested for the commercial market.

Pathfinder 1

Alan Weston began researching airships in the archives in Akron, in 2014, and engaging with airship designers, including the German manufacturer Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and the American multinational Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Subsequently, LTA established facilities in Akron, Ohio; Gardnerville, Nevada; and Moffett Field, California, generating new jobs in these regions. In 2022, LTA became the official owner of the Akron Airdock, and a year later after months of pre-flight training and tests, Pathfinder 1 progressed to its inaugural indoor flight in Mountain View, CA, which led to its outdoor testing on November 8^th.

From construction to pilot training, Pathfinder 1 surpasses early 20th-century airships in being lighter, safer, and more capable. Notably, its safety is enhanced by utilizing helium, a non-flammable lifting gas.

The airship’s impressive design features a strong yet light carbon fiber skeleton and a nonflammable outer layer made of lightweight Tedlar. This construction ensures sturdiness, UV resistance, and the ability to block visible light.

Pathfinder 1’s propulsion, powered by a dozen electric motors, along its sides and tail, promises speeds of up to 75 mph with precise control. Two generators (150-kilowatt) distribute power to the electric motors integrated into the airframe.

Solar panels and ongoing research into hydrogen fuel cells hint at a future where these airships are not just clean but also self-sustainable.

The nose cone of Pathfinder 1 has been crafted in partnership with Zeppelin. It’s a mix of titanium dock, aluminum adapter, Kevlar shield, and carbon fiber. This cone doesn’t just moor the airship gently; it can withstand winds up to 80 mph.

Controlled by a fly-by-wire system, Pathfinder 1 responds to joystick commands from pilots in the Zeppelin-built gondola with sensor feedback data to actuate the 12 electric motors and four fin rudders to fly the airship.

The airship’s main frames are like a skeleton. Welded titanium hubs and carbon fiber tubes form a circular rib cage, and reinforced joints in critical areas make sure Pathfinder 1 stays tough and safe even when it’s carrying significant loads for humanitarian missions.

 The interior of the ship has 13 sections, each with a helium cell made from ripstop nylon-based fabric and monitored by Lidar sensors. The company’s website says, “At LTA Research, we treat helium like the precious resource that it is and keep our helium footprint small by containing and recycling it. We are always looking for new ways to increase our efficiency.”

The gondola is designed to accommodate up to 14 people, with a single-pilot operation setup, complete with dual controls for flight testing.

The team also came up with significant breakthroughs in the assembly of Pathfinder 1. Unlike the precarious methods of the past, where workers climbed towering scaffolding, LTA introduced a rotisserie system. The entire airship skeleton rotates, allowing workers to operate mostly at ground level, ensuring both safety and a ten-fold increase in manufacturing efficiency.

Anticipated to transport payloads ranging from 4,400 pounds (2,000 kg) to 11,000 pounds (5,000 kg), Pathfinder 1 has a versatile capacity depending on the airship’s final weight and the nature of each mission. Following the success of this prototype, LTA plans to build much bigger airships with greater cargo capacity in the coming years. The potential of these airships to access remote and disaster-affected areas and transport substantial cargo, holds promise for making a significant impact in saving lives and delivering crucial relief supplies.

However, the airship industry faces several challenges, as is seen in the ambitious undertaking by Flying Whales, a French company dedicated to developing heavy-lift airships for transporting cargo, especially within the forestry industry. Overcoming technical hurdles in loading, unloading, or executing a cargo-ballast swap proves to be a significant challenge. As heavy cargo is unloaded, making the airship lighter and causing it to ascend much higher, it becomes imperative to carefully balance buoyancy and weight. While some solutions appear straightforward in theory, maintaining this equilibrium in a dynamic timeframe proves challenging. Among the available options, adding and releasing large quantities of helium during each flight is economically unfeasible. Modifying the airship’s lift during flight requires extensive research and development. One potential solution entails carrying an equal weight of water as ballast and dispensing it as the airship lifts heavy cargo, but this approach also has some practical challenges.

Additionally, inclement weather conditions, such as thunderstorms or high winds, may lead to the grounding of airships for safety reasons. While modern airship designs incorporate advanced technology and control systems to enhance stability, pilots still need to consider and navigate through changing weather patterns.

However, with technological advancements in manufacturing, Weston and Brin seem optimistic and Weston envisions a fleet of airships darkening the skies. These airships, with their ability to hover for hours without burning fuel, could fill critical gaps in transportation, particularly in disaster relief and humanitarian missions.

In the hangar, the whispers of Brin’s financial commitment reach $250 million. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Brin, with an estimated net worth of $105 billion, also funds a disaster charity called Global Support and Development that provides rapid response aid after volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and storms.

With companies like Hybrid Air Vehicles, Lockheed Martin, Aeros, VariaLift Airships, OceanSky Cruises, Flying Whales, LTA Research and others actively contributing to the narrative of airship resurgence, the once-forgotten giants of the sky may well reclaim their place in aviation history.

Top featured image: Pathfinder 1 tethered to concrete ballast blocks inside Hangar 2 at Moffett Field in preparation for pre-flight testing. Photo Credit LTA Research

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Sitara Maruf
Sitara@ltaflightmagazine.com

We bring you an update on the ambitious transatlantic balloon expedition featuring Bert Padelt, Sir David Hempleman-Adams, and Dr. Frederik Paulsen. In September and October, we introduced you to these adventurers gearing up for a hydrogen balloon odyssey on the Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer. Unfortunately, the whims of weather have compelled a change in plans.

After extensive consultations with the trio’s weather experts, Wim, Luc, and Don, it has been unanimously decided that there is no chance of a successful flight this year. The arrival of new  atmospheric lows has effectively grounded the team. The trio collectively decided to exercise patience and postpone their balloon flight to next summer.

Initially envisioning a few tracks across the Atlantic, as the possibilities have been in the past, the team found themselves contending with an unexpected cast of characters – tropical storms named Katia, Franklin, Idalia, Lee, Margot, Nigel, Ophelia, Rina, and Philippe. These weather phenomena have proven to be less-than-ideal travel companions.

Eight weeks of eager anticipation, meticulous preparations, and repeated weather checks have yielded no favorable conditions. The team acknowledges the irony of Christmas lights going up in London while they await a suitable break in the weather. With the onset of winter, the prospect of flying through darkness and potential snowfall in Maine has become an additional challenge.

In light of these weather-induced hurdles, Bert, Frederik, and David express their appreciation to Torabhaig for their ongoing support and extend their thanks to the numerous supporters and friends for their patience and commitment.

As the team recalibrates for a summer launch, we look forward to the next chapter in this remarkable adventure. Stay tuned for further updates as Bert, Frederik, and David continue their quest to conquer the Atlantic in a hydrogen balloon.

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In the enchanting realm of ballooning, where dreams soar as high as the skies themselves, Bert Padelt’s name resonates with innovation and adventure.

Padelt’s ballooning odyssey commenced in the late 1980s when he crafted his first gas balloon. An accomplished balloon pilot himself, Padelt has introduced a dazzling array of balloons, each destined for epic journeys. From traversing the continental United States to conquering the vast Pacific Ocean and embracing the enigmatic allure of the Atlantic, his balloons have raced with the winds.

Besides being an extraordinary balloon pilot and balloon manufacturer, what sets Padelt apart are the pivotal roles he has played as Systems Director and Launch Director in several record-setting ballooning attempts.  If you’ve heard of the legendary Steve Fossett and his adventurous ballooning attempts, then Bert Padelt was right there in the thick of it all. Except for Fossett’s first ballooning venture, Padelt played crucial roles as the Systems Director in six or seven of Fossett’s audacious exploits, including his triumphant round-the-world flight in 2002, aboard a balloon meticulously crafted by Cameron. Padelt, however, was involved in every step, from design to equipment testing in England, ensuring that every detail was perfect for the ambitious journey.

And now, visualize the balloon piloted by Richard Abruzzo, soaring through the skies and setting the world distance record in the First Solo Transcontinental US Balloon Flight, from San Diego, California, to the Georgia Coast in 2003. That balloon was Padelt’s creation. Abruzzo flew a distance of 2,074 kilometers in 73 hours 20 minutes.

In the world of high-altitude aspirations, Padelt assumed the mantle of launch director for Sir David Hempleman-Adams. He orchestrated the latter’s two awe-inspiring trans-Atlantic flights. The first in a Roziere balloon flight in an open basket, in 2003, as well as the audacious gas balloon flight in an open basket in 2007.

The 2003 Roziere balloon was built by Cameron, and with Padelt as the launch director, Hempleman-Adams piloted this balloon over a distance of 4427.4 kilometers in 83 hours 17 minutes, setting from New Brunswick, Canada, and touching down in a field in Hambleton, Lancashire, England.

For Hempleman-Adams second crossing of the Atlantic in 2007, Padelt crafted the smallest manned gas balloon system (a mere 37,000 cubic feet!) to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean. Once again, with Padelt as launch director,Hempleman-Adams flew the helium gas balloon from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Nolay, France, covering 4,227 kilometers in 89 hours and 20 minutes. According to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), this flight etched six records in distance and duration into the history books.  

In 2015, Padelt’s genius shone again as he built the Two Eagles Transpacific balloon envelope and served as the launch director for the incredible 10,712-kilometer balloon flight across the vast Pacific Ocean. Piloted by Troy Bradley of the United States and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia, they launched from Saga Prefecture, Japan, on January 25th and made a daring landing in the ocean just four miles off the Baja coast on January 31st. Padelt’s expertise was responsible for the logistics, assembly, launch, and recovery procedures.

One of Padelt’s most remarkable achievements is his gas balloon’s record for the longest flight in the prestigious Gordon Bennett Cup, a gas ballooning competition that began in France in 1906. As of now, his gas balloons hold distance and duration records in an impressive 12 out of the 15 categories.

But Padelt’s creativity doesn’t stop at records and achievements; he’s also the creative genius behind the tetrahedron smoke balloon, a memorable contribution to the 2002 Japanese documentary “Return to Nazca.”

Padelt’s ballooning odyssey has earned him a place in the US Ballooning Hall of Fame. He’s been honored with the FAI Montgolfier Diploma, the highest recognition a balloonist can receive worldwide, and the Balloon Federation of America’s prestigious Shields-Trauger Award in 2015, shared with his wife Joanie, in recognition of their distinguished contributions to gas and hot air ballooning.

Now, Bert Padelt is gearing up for his most audacious adventure yet – a trans-Atlantic balloon crossing aboard a hydrogen balloon in an open basket. In this exhilarating expedition, he will share the tiny basket and the open sky with none other than Sir David Hempleman-Adams and the distinguished Swiss explorer, scientist, and entrepreneur, Dr. Frederik Paulsen.

In an era of advanced communication and technology, where few dare to traverse oceans and circumnavigate the globe by balloon, the Atlantic remains a formidable adversary to even the most seasoned balloon pilots. It’s a realm where the winds and weather hold the reins, where each ascent is a dance with destiny, and every descent is a gamble with the unknown. Despite the odds, Padelt and his illustrious companions are poised to etch their names in the annals of aerial exploration.

In the accompanying or soon-to-be-published interviews with Sitara Maruf, Bert Padelt and Sir David Hempleman-Adams unveil the intricacies of their forthcoming flight and offer a glimpse into the enigmatic world of ballooning. Links included below to related articles.

Please look for updates and track this adventure at the links below.
Updates: https://torabhaig-atlantic-explorer.com/TORABHAIG-DIARY
Track Flight: https://torabhaig-atlantic-explorer.com/

By Sitara Maruf

Related articles / interviews:

Bert Padelt Talks About His Atlantic Explorer Balloon

Balloonists Aim to Cross the Atlantic in a Hydrogen Balloon
Coming up this week: An interview with Sir David Hempleman-Adams!

In an insightful interview with Sitara Maruf, illustrious British explorer, aviator, and trailblazer, Sir David Hempleman-Adams, emphasized the invaluable role played by dedicated teams throughout his endeavors and offered his unique perspective on the world of exploration. Beyond his adventures, he passionately discussed his philanthropic initiatives and the guidance he imparts to young enthusiasts, inspiring the next generation of explorers.

As we prepare to share this interview, it’s worth noting that Sir David is on the brink of embarking on yet another daring escapade: copiloting a hydrogen balloon across the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean from an open basket with renowned US balloon manufacturer and balloonist, Bert Padelt.   Accomplished Swiss explorer and scientist, Dr. Frederik Paulsen will also join them on the flight. Let’s not forget that the take off depends on a suitable weather system both at the launch site in Presque Isle, Maine, United States, and throughout the flight trajectory over the vast Atlantic Ocean.

In the interview below, Sir David provides a captivating glimpse into the upcoming journey with moments of lighthearted humor that illustrate his engaging personality.

Sitara Maruf: All your ballooning achievements and other explorations are truly awe-inspiring. Congratulations.

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Well, I’ve been lucky, very lucky! You always need a very good team around you. On all my balloon trips, I’ve been lucky with help from people, but, you know, I think sometimes people don’t realize how well they’re respected in other countries. So, Bert Padelt, who I’m flying with on the Atlantic flight is quite unique in the world, in that he knows the technical side of a balloon and has several skills. He, from a very young age, had this love of aviation, and he got into building balloons.  He thinks it through, and then he builds the balloon. It’s like when you see a craftsman working on a work of art, and they’re engrossed in it, and they love producing something of quality and beauty.

And when you see his products, be it a basket or the balloon; it is done with love and perfection.  He’s an aeronautical engineer and he is a unique craftsman; he never copies anyone else. He has his own ideas and then he builds it. But on top of that, he flies it. And that’s very unique. So, in the UK and Europe, if you ask people in Switzerland or Belgium or Germany, who’s the best, they all come back with Bert Padelt.

Sitara Maruf:  Yes. He’s very respected as a balloon manufacturer and as a balloonist.

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: So, for my trip, I feel very humbled and very honored that I can fly with Bert Padelt. He’s a great and fantastic pilot, so I feel very safe, and it is going to be great fun flying with him.

Sitara Maruf: I understand you had some great ballooning journeys on Bert Padelt’s balloons.

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Yeah, all my ballooning records are purely down to him. This is where he’s very good. Before you take off, he will go for a coffee with you and he will sit you down and he will say, this is what’s going to happen to the balloon the first five minutes, and this is what’s going to happen around you. This is the weather that you’ve got and you’re going to be going at this speed, at this height, so, you’ve got to be careful. And when I went very, very high on altitude, he said, you’re going to go up and then you’re going to slow down, and then this is going to happen. And I’m talking about, you know, 40,000 feet up. And every time, he talks with knowledge and experience, so you listen, and every time he’s smack on the money. He thinks it through, and he flies the flight for you. And that’s what gives you the confidence to go out and do it.

Sitara Maruf: So, what was the motivation behind your decision to attempt another trans-Atlantic crossing? Why is this expedition so significant to you?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Well, I think two or three reasons. One, I’m slowing down now and a friend of mine, Frederik Paulsen, who’s from Switzerland, has always talked to me about the Atlantic, and Bert was talking about the Atlantic, and he wanted to do the Atlantic. So, I just I thought it’d be one last and great big ballooning journey for me. And it’d be nice to do with a great friend like Bert, because when you do these things in the competition, there’s the stress of the competition. And you’ve got to take off with whatever the weather gives you. You’re always looking at the other balloons. And on solo trips, like some that I have done, you don’t get much sleep, so you don’t enjoy it, until you finish; whereas, when you’ve got a really good, competent pilot like Bert, you can alternate the flying and that way you can get some good quality sleep, and enjoy the journey and the experience a lot, lot, lot more. Bert and I were always good friends, so, I’m hoping to start off as good friends and return as brothers after the finished flight!

Sitara Maruf: That’s great. When you flew solo to the North Pole, was it a helium balloon?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Yes, it was. Also, I’ve flown two helium balloons across the Atlantic, but this will be the first hydrogen balloon.

[Details of the balloons and the flights to the North Pole and across the Atlantic, appear in the accompanying article.]

Sitara Maruf: Now, as we know that hydrogen balloons have some specific safety concerns due to the flammable nature of hydrogen gas. So, flying a hydrogen balloon would be a different experience?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Yeah, Yeah, so, I’ve had to stop Bert from smoking cigars…

Sitara Maruf: [Bursting into laughter] Okay, but not whiskey? Whiskey is okay?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Yeah. Yeah, whiskey’s okay. So, we’ll take the whiskey, but we’ve got to keep the cigars behind.

[The Atlantic ballooning endeavor is sponsored by Torabhaig Single Malt Whisky, which is owned by their Swiss flight companion Dr. Frederik Paulsen.]

Sitara Maruf: Let us move on to other supplies and provisions like food, water, and other essentials during the journey.

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: With this balloon, it’s very simple. Your ballast is sand. There’s no propane, there’s no heater, because it’s hydrogen. Sand, food, water, and everything is ballast. So, if for any reason, we get short on sand, we just throw over a can of baked beans―making sure there’s no one down below.

Sitara Maruf: Obviously, there won’t be any cooking? All food will be packaged?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: No, no, no. It’s like camping in the sky, I’m the cook. So yeah. I will be cooking and heating up baked beans for Bert, while he’s flying the balloon. Hot food and hot drinks are very important. But, of course, you’re asking the right question ’cause you’re a scientist. You don’t want any naked flame or anything like that, for obvious reasons. So, we will close the balloon, to make sure there’s no contamination whatsoever. And it’s like a tent, so you can roll down the tent. We will be extra careful when we’ve got the little cooking stove in the bottom of the basket. So, I’ll be responsible for that.

Sitara Maruf: And you’ll be taking turns sleeping.

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Yeah, yeah. Just on the floor.

Sitara Maruf: In 2000, when you embarked on this solo balloon journey to the North Pole, it seems impossible for any time. And the only example that you had in front of you was the long suffering and tragic end of Solomon Andree’s balloon expedition in 1897. And, like them, you also used an open gondola to reach the North Pole. So, what were the unique challenges and emotions that you felt on that historic journey?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Well, since 1897, no one had tried it. And nowadays we have better weather forecasting, but all the meteorologists around the world said it wasn’t possible, because the weather systems across the Atlantic are very different to the ones up on the Arctic Ocean. So, I just thought, well, why not try? You know, you might fail, but try, and that’s exactly what happened. So, I was very, very lucky. I had the right weatherman.

You know, the pilot is just a monkey. He just does up and down. If you feed the monkey a banana, he’s as happy as Larry, whereas the meteorologist is the clever man. He’s the guy who says, you have to take off on this day at this time, and you have to go in this direction for 10 hours, and then I want you to do this for 12 hours, and then I want you to do that for six hours. So, he’s the man who’s actually looking at what’s going on in the sky, like a big chess game. And so, he’s the genius. And we had a fantastic genius in Luc Trullemans, and that’s how I got to the North Pole and back.

But conversely, also, when you look at this Atlantic trip, we got two great people. We’ve got Bert Padelt, who’s built the balloon, and he’s fantastic, but we’ve also got a very good weatherman as well. So, he’s looking with Bert to go across. And, you know, I’m very lucky. I’ll get the call, I will fly from England into Boston, drive up to Presque Isle, Maine (the launch site). The balloon will be up and ready. I’ll get in the basket, even in my pajamas, and off I go.

Sitara Maruf: But these long duration balloon flights, like going to the North Pole, or crossing the oceans, are a test of your endurance and patience. It involves many death-defying moments. How do you mentally and physically prepare for endurance and isolation?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Well, I think, with all these things, you minimize the risk. I think you’re probably more at risk going into Washington DC in a car than you are flying across the Atlantic. And, if there’s two of you, that makes a huge difference to the duration. The worst thing is not sleeping. And if you can’t sleep, then you start to make very bad decisions. So, we have a very good control room with people who know about flying, air traffic control, and the weather. This is a fantastic team that we’ve got, including the people who supply the hydrogen and the tube trailer. There are probably a hundred people who have helped this project come together for us to go. So, it’s not just two pilots, it’s a big team.

Sitara Maruf: Which accomplishment in ballooning has had the most profound impact on your life as an adventurer or as a person?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: This Atlantic flight that’s coming up, because I haven’t flown for a long time, you know. With COVID, I thought, are we ever going to be able to fly again? And so, it has given me a new lease of life. It’s exciting. I’m really looking forward to doing this. It’s nice.

Sitara Maruf: So, it’s like traveling with friends?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Yes, a hundred percent yes.

Sitara Maruf: Okay. Your career has included various honors and awards. Which recognition or awards hold the most personal significance for you?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Ah, well, my goodness. That’s a good question. Well, I started off when I was 13 years old. The Duke of Edinburgh, who was the queen’s husband, started a charity called the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. I took part in that, and when I was 13 years old, my school friends and I had to walk 25 miles and spend a night camping in a tent. And that’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done, because it’s the first time I had to go in a tent, and it was the first time I had to share a tent with other guys.

I couldn’t take my teddy bear or anything. So, after the expedition, I got the Bronze Award, I’ve got it somewhere here, it’s a little bronze medal. And for me, that’s the first thing I’ve ever achieved and the most important thing than anything else I’ve ever achieved. And so, when young people want to do these things, I say, just try. Lot of people stop because they don’t want to try; they don’t want to fail. But I say, as long as you try, it doesn’t matter if you fail, and you will learn from the experience, and you’ll grow from the experience. And then just try again. Sometimes I’ve tried two or three times and failed. Then you just go back and hopefully it works out, but never give up. And so, that first bronze award for me is better than anything else I’ve achieved.

Sitara Maruf: I believe you are also involved in some humanitarian and charitable efforts for young people. Would you like to share some details about those?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: Well, I just feel I’ve been very lucky with people who had the patience to put up with me and teach me when I was a young boy. So, I started up a charity for young people to give them an adventure experience. And also, I was a trustee on the very same Duke of Edinburgh’s Award that I just talked about. I was on that trust for many, many years. And now I’m a trustee on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Outward Bound Award, which again the Duke of Edinburgh started in England. You have Outward Bound in America and Canada as well, and it’s a great youth scheme, which pushes young individuals out of their comfort zone. I’ve received a lot of help in my life, you know, and I’ve got to the age when I just feel it’s important to give something back.

Sitara Maruf: Your achievements and your activities are truly inspiring to balloonists and to everyone in general. Is there anything else you would like to share that I may have overlooked?

Sir David Hempleman-Adams: I’m very much looking forward to this [the Atlantic balloon flight]. The other reason we came to Presque Isle, Maine, is because the United States still has a fantastic aviation culture. We could have gone to Canada, we could have gone anywhere, but we came to America, and the number of people who have helped us, who’ve opened the doors to help us has been extraordinary. It’s really heartwarming to see so many people―over a hundred people have helped us in different ways. It is really fantastic. And for some, I think, they will look at the flight and they will fly vicariously through us. But we feel, I feel anyway, that they’re with us in the balloon. And that’s why it’s fantastic, and that’s why we’re starting from America.

As our conversation neared its end, I extended my heartfelt wishes for a safe and successful flight to him and his companions. I also wished him the best in all aspects of life. Continuing in his gracious manner, Sir David Hempleman-Adams expressed his readiness to reconvene after the flight and let us know how it all went.

Please look for updates and track the awaited Atlantic balloon crossing at the links below.

Updates: https://torabhaig-atlantic-explorer.com/TORABHAIG-DIARY
Track Flight: https://torabhaig-atlantic-explorer.com/

Interview date – 13 September 2023

By Sitara Maruf