Riding in a hot air balloon is a fun and exciting way to fly. The first hot air balloon flight was in 1783 by the Frenchman Francois Pilatre de Rozier. Since that first flight, there have been many hot air balloon world records. Here are ten of them:
The largest number of hot air balloons to take off at once was 433. This took place on July 31st 2013 in France at the Lorraine Mondial Air Balloon gathering.
Emma Carol was 109 years old when she flew for an hour in a hot air balloon in 1895. Her record still stands.
Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first people to fly across the Atlantic in a balloon. They flew from Sugarloaf, Maine, USA to Limavady in Northern Ireland in 1987. The 3,075-mile journey took 31 hours and 41 minutes.
Steve Fosett set off from Western Australia in 2002 and landed in Queensland, Australia 13 days and 12 hours later to be the first person to fly around the world in a hot air balloon.
In January 2000, Ivan Andre Trifonov from Austria piloted a balloon over the South Pole at an altitude of 15,000 ft.
The highest man has flown in a hot air balloon is 68,986 feet which was achieved by Dr Vijaypat Singhania who flew over Mumbai in India in November 2005.
In 2002, a hot air balloon lifted British man, Curtis Rivers, to a height on 15,200 feet. From there, he launched himself with a 98 feet bungee cord attached to the balloon. He bounced five times then parachuted back to the ground.
In 2014, a giant hot air balloon was manufactured by Cameron Balloons of Bristol. It carried 32 passengers to claim the world record for the largest certified passenger carrying balloon.
The ultimate balloon flight is over Everest, the world’s highest mountain. The website ifonly.com is advertising this trip of a lifetime for £5,215,000 for two people. Although the flight takes under a day, it may take several weeks of waiting in Nepal for the right weather conditions.
Simply having the money does not guarantee a place. All intending passengers must undergo a mental and physical test and spend about a month on physical and skill training before the expedition.
No money will be returned if the attempt to fly over Everest is unsuccessful.
In 2011, 49 balloons crossed from Dover to Calais across the English Channel. Originally, 50 balloons set off, but one had to land before Calais when it got into difficulties.
