Today we inflated our balloon and fixed some minor holes.
That is how a gas balloon looks from the inside.
Gasballon von innen
Montag, August 31, 2009
GB Prediction
Since a couple of days weather looks like above. The two possibilities are: To ride the so called Mistral Wind in the Rhone Valley or to go high above the highest Mountains of the alps down t Sicily. There is always the possibility of a no launch....
Mistral im Rhonetal oder Hochfahrt über die höchsten Berge Europas, übers Mittelmeer nach Sizilien - das ist hier die Frage, die sich seit Tagen auftut. Es gibt immer die Möglichkeit des Nichtstartens.
Freitag, Juni 12, 2009
Freitag, April 10, 2009
GPSed Track "Fahrt 10 märz"
View my new track 
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GPSed Track "Fahrt 10 märz"
View my new track
Track ballon fahrt
Powered by GPSed.com - Free Mobile GPS Tracking Service
Montag, März 30, 2009
GPSed Track "Test"
Samstag, Februar 07, 2009
Montag, Oktober 13, 2008
David Hempleman-Adams und Jonathan Mason sind die Gewinner des Gordon Bennett Rennens
Wir gratulieren den Engländern zu Ihrem Sieg beim Gordon Bennett Rennen und sind auf das Rennen von der Insel im Jahr 2010 gespannt.
Auch Gerald Stürzlinger und Helmut Meierhofer sowie Barbara Fricke und Peter Cuneo auf den Plätzen zwei und drei beglückwünschen wir zu einem Podiumsplatz.
Anbei einige Impressionen von der Siegerehrung:
Eine After-Ceremony-Party auf dem Zimmer des Teams Krafczyk bildete dann noch einen schönen Abschluß der Renn-Woche in den USA.
Auch Gerald Stürzlinger und Helmut Meierhofer sowie Barbara Fricke und Peter Cuneo auf den Plätzen zwei und drei beglückwünschen wir zu einem Podiumsplatz.
Anbei einige Impressionen von der Siegerehrung:
Eine After-Ceremony-Party auf dem Zimmer des Teams Krafczyk bildete dann noch einen schönen Abschluß der Renn-Woche in den USA.
Sonntag, Oktober 12, 2008
Vielen Dank / Bilder aus dem Korb Teil 2
Vielen Dank Euch allen, die uns durch Blogeinträge unterstützt habt. Wir
haben diese auf unserem Handy in der Luft empfangen uns darüber sehr
gefreut. Es war einfach schön zu sehen, wie Viele uns bei diesem Abenteuer
folgen und unterstützen. Das hat natürlich den Spaß, den wir sowieso hatten,
nochmal gesteigert. An dieser Stelle möchte ich auch dem ganzen Team Danke
sagen: Petra und Pavla, die und durch 5 Bundesstaaten verfolgt haben und
keine halbe Stunde nach unserer Landung in unserer Nähe waren, Dominik unser
Zauberer der Winde, der uns immer mit den aktuellsten Winden und Wetter
versorgt hat und den Blog gepflegt hat, was uns von der Luft aus nicht
möglich war, Patricia, Annelise, Jürgen, Jan, Marc und Paul, die beim
Aufrüsten eine große Hilfe waren.
Schade, daß es nicht geklappt hat, wie wir es uns vorgestellt haben. Die
Gründe werden wir dann in Deutschland zusammen mit dem Hersteller
analysieren.
Samstag, Oktober 11, 2008
Notes from the chase
Here I am again, the novice crew member, with a few notes from our journey to Warrensburg, MO where Tomas and Volker landed.
We can’t really call the first day and half a chase. After the Finn Pearl launched, we packed up and returned to the hotel for a good night sleep while the guys hovered around ABQ. On Tuesday, after leisurely breakfast, we went to the post office to get our balloon mail stamped, hung the sandbags out to dry, collected a few additional items for the road and then proceeded with a mighty important task – we went shopping to the Cottonwood mall. It was a productive and fun afternoon; we even considered going to the cinema. Petra, my experienced chasing partner, advised I shouldn’t get used to such a start, but neither one of us complained. Later in the evening, we spoke to Tomas and Dominik and knew that we’d have to get on the road heading east the next morning.
Wednesday was another warm gorgeous day. As we were leaving, the blue sky was stamped with several hot-air balloons that flew by the hotel from the Fiesta field.
From Oklahoma City, we took the I-35 north to Wichita, Kansas and then on to Kansas City. Tomas and Volker were still in the lead by a significant distance and planned to fly through the night and the next day. I took a nap while Petra was driving. I woke up shortly after midnight when Dominik called to let us know that the guys were experiencing difficulties. The balloon was leaking gas, and it became obvious that landing would have to take place at daybreak. We were within about 100 miles from their current position, so we were confident we’d catch up with them soon and stay with them till morning. Then around 2:30 AM local time, the command center called – the leak got worse, and 
Tomas and Volker were getting ready to land near the town of Warrensburg, Missouri, right off highway 50. We were close, within 15 miles from them, but the phone signal was cutting out and we couldn’t get the latest coordinates. Landing at night is obviously very dangerous, but there was no time to worry too much; we were trying to get as close as possible to the presumed landing site. We had followed a smaller road and needed to get back to Hwy 50. The next phone call 10 minutes later came from Tomas’ cell phone – they landed safely! You could hear a thump in the car as a huge stone fell from my chest. Petra and I were relieved, but still trying to locate the basket’s position. Finally, we got Tomas on the radio and were able to drive up a small road to a farm where we met up with him. Exhausted, disappointed, but, more importantly, alive and well, relieved that the landing was safe. He had been walking for half an hour around the dark fields and small ponds surrounded by barbwire fences trying to find a road to the farm. They had landed in the middle of a field full of crops, and it was clear that we couldn’t retrieve the basket then. Volker agreed to stay with the basket; the three of us took shelter in the chase truck. 
We slept for some 3.5 hours, then went to look for the farmer in whose crops the guys landed. Gary B. was a tall, sturdy man in his sixties. He and his associates were in the middle of harvesting their corn with little time to spare for wayfaring strangers, but after Tomas explained our situation, Gary was not unfriendly. Curiosity probably played its role, because how often does a balloon land in your soybean crops, right? He drove his pick-up truck down to where Tomas expected to find the basket and we followed them. A beautiful Midwestern day was breaking over fields and straw bales; the air was
misty and soft with first sun rays. Fortunately, the landing site was not terribly far and there was relatively easy access. For a tractor with a forklift attached, that is. And fortunately again, Gary owned one. Reunited with Volker, we started packing up the instruments and other things from the basket. Half hour later, Gary returned with his “little tractor”, as he called it. The wheels of the John Deer classic were taller than Petra, so we had hard time imagining how his “big tractor” might look like. Gary easily picked up both the basket and the provisionally packed envelope and transported them toward the truck. Only two clear lines of soybean plants squashed to the ground leading into the field indicated the landing site then. We thanked Gary, paid a fair price for the 5 bushels of beans he expected to have lost to the landing and balloon retrieval, and said good bye, so he could get back to his harvest routine, even though we could tell that he would rather join us for lunch and chatted some more. We took our time loading the truck and then left to eat at Players, a local restaurant well recommended by Gary. We finished our balloon mail 
there and later posted it at a local post office. It was mid-afternoon when we took off for the ride back to ABQ. 
We can’t really call the first day and half a chase. After the Finn Pearl launched, we packed up and returned to the hotel for a good night sleep while the guys hovered around ABQ. On Tuesday, after leisurely breakfast, we went to the post office to get our balloon mail stamped, hung the sandbags out to dry, collected a few additional items for the road and then proceeded with a mighty important task – we went shopping to the Cottonwood mall. It was a productive and fun afternoon; we even considered going to the cinema. Petra, my experienced chasing partner, advised I shouldn’t get used to such a start, but neither one of us complained. Later in the evening, we spoke to Tomas and Dominik and knew that we’d have to get on the road heading east the next morning.
Wednesday was another warm gorgeous day. As we were leaving, the blue sky was stamped with several hot-air balloons that flew by the hotel from the Fiesta field.
We got on the I-40 West and drove and drove and drove for about 8 hours to Oklahoma City, crossing the Texas state border first. The ride was uneventful and easy, the landscape flat and much the same as we drove on, but we enjoyed it and found small pleasures in noting the road signs, local city advertisements and other curiosities. There was a pretty sunset too. Here are some pictures which, as usual, are worth 10,000 words:
From Oklahoma City, we took the I-35 north to Wichita, Kansas and then on to Kansas City. Tomas and Volker were still in the lead by a significant distance and planned to fly through the night and the next day. I took a nap while Petra was driving. I woke up shortly after midnight when Dominik called to let us know that the guys were experiencing difficulties. The balloon was leaking gas, and it became obvious that landing would have to take place at daybreak. We were within about 100 miles from their current position, so we were confident we’d catch up with them soon and stay with them till morning. Then around 2:30 AM local time, the command center called – the leak got worse, and 
Tomas and Volker were getting ready to land near the town of Warrensburg, Missouri, right off highway 50. We were close, within 15 miles from them, but the phone signal was cutting out and we couldn’t get the latest coordinates. Landing at night is obviously very dangerous, but there was no time to worry too much; we were trying to get as close as possible to the presumed landing site. We had followed a smaller road and needed to get back to Hwy 50. The next phone call 10 minutes later came from Tomas’ cell phone – they landed safely! You could hear a thump in the car as a huge stone fell from my chest. Petra and I were relieved, but still trying to locate the basket’s position. Finally, we got Tomas on the radio and were able to drive up a small road to a farm where we met up with him. Exhausted, disappointed, but, more importantly, alive and well, relieved that the landing was safe. He had been walking for half an hour around the dark fields and small ponds surrounded by barbwire fences trying to find a road to the farm. They had landed in the middle of a field full of crops, and it was clear that we couldn’t retrieve the basket then. Volker agreed to stay with the basket; the three of us took shelter in the chase truck. 
We slept for some 3.5 hours, then went to look for the farmer in whose crops the guys landed. Gary B. was a tall, sturdy man in his sixties. He and his associates were in the middle of harvesting their corn with little time to spare for wayfaring strangers, but after Tomas explained our situation, Gary was not unfriendly. Curiosity probably played its role, because how often does a balloon land in your soybean crops, right? He drove his pick-up truck down to where Tomas expected to find the basket and we followed them. A beautiful Midwestern day was breaking over fields and straw bales; the air was
misty and soft with first sun rays. Fortunately, the landing site was not terribly far and there was relatively easy access. For a tractor with a forklift attached, that is. And fortunately again, Gary owned one. Reunited with Volker, we started packing up the instruments and other things from the basket. Half hour later, Gary returned with his “little tractor”, as he called it. The wheels of the John Deer classic were taller than Petra, so we had hard time imagining how his “big tractor” might look like. Gary easily picked up both the basket and the provisionally packed envelope and transported them toward the truck. Only two clear lines of soybean plants squashed to the ground leading into the field indicated the landing site then. We thanked Gary, paid a fair price for the 5 bushels of beans he expected to have lost to the landing and balloon retrieval, and said good bye, so he could get back to his harvest routine, even though we could tell that he would rather join us for lunch and chatted some more. We took our time loading the truck and then left to eat at Players, a local restaurant well recommended by Gary. We finished our balloon mail 
there and later posted it at a local post office. It was mid-afternoon when we took off for the ride back to ABQ. 
Donnerstag, Oktober 09, 2008
News Thursday, Oct. 9th, 07:30 UTC
Balloon OH-ENI has landed in the night!
Tomas und Volker are safe on the ground near Warrensburg,
about 40 miles ESE Kansas City.
The team is on site and after a sleep until sunrise they
will pack the balloon.
After 2 days aloft without any surprizing use of ballast
Tomas and Volker needed within the first half of their
third night about 8 bags to keep it flying.
At this stage it is not clear what has caused this fact.
They did a great job and have left all of their competitors
far behind speeding above the country. Only the balloon has
stopped further distance.
The team is very disappointed, but, nothing is lost until
now! We will stay tune and give further informations as soon
as possible. Keep your fingers crossed and hope that their
distance to Albuquerque is just enough to
BRING THE COUPE GORDON BENNETT TO STUTTGART !
About 52 h 52 Min., 1.210 km / 752 miles from ABQ.
Info von Donnerstag, 09. Okt., 07:30 Uhr UTC
Ballon in der Nacht gelandet!
Tomas und Volker sind sicher auf einem großen Feld bei
Warrensburg, ca. 60 km ESE von Kansas City gelandet.
Die Crew ist vor Ort und nach einer gemeinsamen Pause werden
sie nach dem Sonnenaufgang den Ballon verladen.
Nach 2 Tagen ohne nennenswerten Ballastverbrauch mussten
Tomas und Volker in der erste Hälfte der 3. Nacht etwa
8 Sack Sand abgeben, um den Ballon in der Luft zu halten.
Eine sichere Aussage, warum der Ballon zu diesem Zeitpunkt
so viel Ballast verbraucht hat, steht aus.
Sie haben eine grandiose Leistung erbracht und sind bis zur
Landung allen anderen Teams mit Tempo davon gefahren.
Das Team ist sehr entäuscht, aber noch ist nichts verloren.
Wir bleiben aktuell "am Ball" und informieren über den Stand
der folgenden Wettbewerber. Wir drücken die Daumen, dass der
Vorsprung ausreicht und der Sieg nach Stuttgart geht.
Fahrzeit: ca. 52 Std. 52 Minuten, ca. 1.210 km ab Start.
Vorsprung zum Zeitpunkt der Landung: ca. 400 km.
Weitere Nachrichten folgen.
Info von Donnerstag, 09. Okt., 06.00 Uhr UTC
Aktuelle Position ca.40 km SE Kansas City, nahe Pleasent Hill,
ca. 1.164 km ab Albuquerque.
PeOb und Pavla sind mit ihrem Sprinter südlich Kansas City auf
dem Highway unterwegs und können bald per Funkgerät direkt mit
der Besatzung sprechen. Stimmung gut, mal sehen was wird.
Weitere Nachrichten folgen.
Aktuelle Position ca.40 km SE Kansas City, nahe Pleasent Hill,
ca. 1.164 km ab Albuquerque.
PeOb und Pavla sind mit ihrem Sprinter südlich Kansas City auf
dem Highway unterwegs und können bald per Funkgerät direkt mit
der Besatzung sprechen. Stimmung gut, mal sehen was wird.
Weitere Nachrichten folgen.
Info von Donnerstag, 09. Okt., 01.00 Uhr UTC
Aktuelle Position ca. 130 km WSW Kansas City. Nach 46 Stunden
haben sie ab Albuquerque die 1000 km-Marke geknackt!
Tomas und Volker sind nach guter Stimmung und vertragen einen
weiteren Tag in der Luft. Aber, abgerechnet wird zum Schluss!
Die anderen Wettbewerber sind nie zu unterschätzen und haben
alle ein Ziel: Die größte Strecke und damit die Ehre, 2010 das
Rennen im Heimatland auszurichten.
Je nach Ballastverbrauch zur Nachtabkühlung und Verbrauch in
der Nacht ist zu entscheiden, wie lange gefahren werden kann.
Aktuelle Position ca. 130 km WSW Kansas City. Nach 46 Stunden
haben sie ab Albuquerque die 1000 km-Marke geknackt!
Tomas und Volker sind nach guter Stimmung und vertragen einen
weiteren Tag in der Luft. Aber, abgerechnet wird zum Schluss!
Die anderen Wettbewerber sind nie zu unterschätzen und haben
alle ein Ziel: Die größte Strecke und damit die Ehre, 2010 das
Rennen im Heimatland auszurichten.
Je nach Ballastverbrauch zur Nachtabkühlung und Verbrauch in
der Nacht ist zu entscheiden, wie lange gefahren werden kann.
Nächste Konferenz mit Dominik um:
06:00 Uhr UTC = local 08:00 Uhr Deutschland / 00:00 Uhr ABQ.
Weitere Nachrichten folgen.
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