Steve Fossett - Balloon

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James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – c. September 3, 2007) was an American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer and the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.

He made his fortune in the financial services industry, and was best known for many world records, including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.


Balloon pilot

On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, after taking off from South Korea, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

In 2002, he became the first person to fly around the world alone, nonstop, in a balloon.

He launched the 10-story high balloon Spirit of Freedom from Northam, Western Australia, on June 19, 2002 and returned to Australia on July 3, 2002, subsequently landing in Queensland, Australia.
Duration and distance of this solo balloon flight was 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km).
The balloon dragged him along the ground for 20 minutes at the end of the flight.
The control center for the mission was in Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.

Fossett's top speed during the flight was 186 miles per hour (299 km/h) over the Indian Ocean.

Only the capsule survived the landing; it was taken to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where it was displayed.
The trip set a number of records for ballooning: Fastest (200 miles per hour (320 km/h), breaking his own previous record of 166 miles per hour (270 km/h)), Fastest Around the World (13.5 days), Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon (20,482.26 miles (32,963.00 km) 20,482.26 miles), and 24-Hour Balloon Distance (3,186.80 miles (5,128.66 km) on July 1).

While Fossett had financed five previous tries himself, his successful record-setting flight was sponsored by Bud Light.
In the end, Fossett actually made money on all his balloon flights; he bought a contingency insurance policy for $500,000 that would pay him $3 million if he succeeded in the flight, and along with sponsorship, that payout meant that in the end, Fossett did not have to spend any of his money other than for initial expenses.


Airship pilot

Fossett set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships on October 27, 2004.
The new record for fastest flight was accomplished with a Zeppelin NT, at a recorded average speed of 62.2 knots (115.0 km/h, 71.5 mph). The previous record was 50.1 knots (92.8 km/h, 57.7 mph) set in 2001 in a Virgin airship.

In 2006, Fossett was one of only 17 pilots in the world licensed to fly the Zeppelin.

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