The pilots Bertrand Piccard

Contents

The concept Jet streams

Brian Jones (UK)

Born March 27, 1947 in Bristol, Brian Jones is married, father of two and has three grandchildren. He learned to fly at the age of sixteen. He has spent 13 years with the Royal Air Force. He developed his passion for ballooning back in 1986. Soon thereafter, he acquired his commercial balloon flying license and became an instructor in 1989. Brian is also a certified examiner for balloon flight licenses by the British Civil Aviation Authority. From the early stage, Brian was the designated back-up pilot for the project and has thus undergone all the required training, including during the previous BREITLING attempt. Second-in-command to chief of mission Alan Noble, Brian has accumulated close to 5000 flight hours, of which 1200 were clocked up aboard a balloon. In 1997-98, he lent a hand organizing the BREITLING ORBITER 2 attempt, assisting Alan Noble at mission control center in Geneva. Until now, Brian was BREITLING ORBITER 3 project manager, responsible for the construction of the gondola and of the flight systems. Brian is looking forward to fly with Bertrand Piccard and secretly hopes to complete the earth's circle then land the BREITLING ORBITER 3 balloon near the pyramids of Egypt.

Bertrand Piccard The pilots

Contents

Jet streams The concept