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On the threshold of the 21st century

On the threshold of the 21st century, a non-stop round-the-world balloon flight, representing the last remaining aeronautical record, has not yet been achieved. After two unsuccessful attempts, Breitling is again taking up the challenge this year with the Breitling Orbiter 3 project.

While there are numerous obvious similarities with the two first projects, the approach used in the conception of Breitling Orbiter 3 has been essentially geared towards considerable work in the fields of scientific analysis and technological research. Thanks to its record duration, January's Breitling Orbiter 2 flight yielded crucial lessons which led Breitling to form a team of experts responsible for finding new answers to the problems arising. As a consequence, the capsule-balloon configuration has been modified in several ways. A new envelope design should enhance flight conditions by mitigating day/night thermal differences on the helium mass. The other determining factor involves the choice of fuel: propane gas will be used instead of kerosene this time. This year's flight will have a crew of two rather than three. Bertrand Piccard is preparing for take-off number three, this time in the company of Englishman Brian Jones. Once again, lift-off is scheduled from Ch‰teau-d'Oex, Europe's hot-air balloon capital, some time between November 1998 and February 1999 – the period offering the weather window most propitious to catching the powerful jet streams blowing around the globe in the northern hemisphere.

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