The technology A gigantic balloon

Contents

The pilots Brian Jones

BERTRAND PICCARD (SWI)

On board for the third time running, Bertrand Piccard needs no introduction. A medical doctor specializing in psychiatry, Bertrand Piccard has first-hand experience of virtually all forms of free flight. Among the first hang-gliding enthusiasts at the age of sixteen, he became the European aerobatics champion, invented several acrobatic figures and established a world altitude record. A qualified ultra-light flyer and hang-gliding instructor, he also enjoys paragliding. He made his first hot-air balloon flight in 1979. Along with Wim Verstraeten, a fellow crew-member during the two previous round-the-world balloon attempts, he won the Chrysler Transatlantic Challenge in 1992. Bertrand is the grandson of Auguste Piccard, the Swiss physician famous for his important inventions, particularly that of the pressurized cabin. His grandfather was the first man to reach the stratosphere in a balloon and invented the Bathyscaphe, a submarine which Jacques Piccard, BertrandŐs father, took down to 10,916 meters, the deepest point of the globe. Born in 1958, Bertrand Piccard is married and has three daughters.

The technology A gigantic balloon

Contents

The pilots Brian Jones