11. 03. 99
Two options available over the Pacific

The hats have been made with the flight maps

The log book

17:00 GMT: This morning, at 02:00 GMT, Breitling Orbiter 3 beated the duration record of its predecessor Breitling Orbiter 2, which landed last year in Burma after 9 days 17 hours and 55 minutes. The balloon who has flown more than 3000 kilometers into the Pacific, will very shortly quit japanese airspace, at an altitude of 7600 meters. The meteorologists have voluntarily slowed it down to compensate the early exit of China. Breitling Orbiter 3 will fly very close to the tropic of Cancer for the next few days, not exceeding 40 knots (72 km/h). However, as fuel consumption has been lower than anticipated, the reduction of speed is absolutely not threatening to the flight. The balloon has been ordered to slow down, in order to catch in due time one of the two jet streams currently forming over the Pacific. At this stage, faster winds would spoil the favorable easternly direction taken by the craft. At the present time, the meteorologists are choosing between two options: the Polar jet stream and the Subtropical jet stream, both of which can be caught half-way across the Pacific. The Polar jet stream would take the balloon over California and the United States. The Subtropical jet stream, which is currently forming around Hawai, will push the gondola towards Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. After nearly 10 days on board and more than 20'000 kilometers, the two pilots are still getting on perfectly well. " Bertrand and I are still talking to each other", laughs Brian Jones, "there has not been a single bad word between us. The only swearwords were directed at minor technical problems. The only thing that annoys me is the dehydrated food. But if it’s the only probem, I think we can survive it". 13:30 GMT: This morning the Breitling Orbiter 3 passed 1'400 km north of the Mariana Trench, the place in the Pacific where 39 years ago Pilot Bertrand Piccard's father, Jacques, set world record when he descended 10'916 metres below the surface of the ocean in the bythyscaphe to explore the deepest known spot on earth. 06:45 GMT: Breitling Orbiter 3 has beaten the duration record of its predecessor - the Breitling Orbiter 2 - which landed in Burma after 9 days 17 hours and 55 minutes.