Balloonists Reach Pacific Midpoint

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Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev have crossed the International Dateline as they continue their quest to cross the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, the team reported on Monday, and have reached the halfway mark toward their distance goal. The flight so far is going smoothly, the pilots reported to their ground crew on Tuesday. Bradley said they are “having a wonderful time” and the balloon is “flying beautifully.” So far, the weather has been favorable, and the team has enjoyed “spectacular” sunrises and sunsets from their vantage about 15,000 feet above the Pacific. By noon Tuesday (Eastern Time), the team had covered 3,600 miles in 68 hours of flying, and was passing north of the Hawaiian Islands.

The balloonists hope to exceed the current world distance record for gas balloons of 5,208 miles, which was set by the Double Eagle IV team during the first manned trans-Pacific balloon flight in 1981. They also hope to exceed the duration record of just over 137 hours (five days, 17 hours), which was set in 1978 during the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon crossing by the crew of Double Eagle II. The Two Eagles flight is being tracked online at the team’s website and on social media.

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