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00:12Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Myers Report, Fast 15. It is Friday, June 5th,
00:192026. This week, we are focusing in on Don Day and his involvement as ground control for the
00:28Atlantic Explorer, a transatlantic balloon flight where three people are making a crossover
00:34in an open wicker basket. Good morning, Don. How are you doing? Good morning, Gary. I'm doing good.
00:42Where are they now? And well, first, let's start off with where are they now?
00:47Well, where they are now is they are approximately a couple hundred miles east of Newfoundland.
00:55As you can see there in the red dot with the tail number of November 56 uniform Sierra. And if
01:04I
01:04move it over a little bit, they're now on their way to not being far here in a few hours
01:12from the
01:12halfway point and then heading over towards mainland Europe. They could be there in as quickly as 40
01:21hours from now. Okay. So they are committed. They can't turn around. Yeah. Now, last night,
01:27yesterday evening, was the last opportunity for them to decide to land or maybe change their mind
01:35before they went out over open water. Unlike other aircraft that you can turn around, you can't do
01:41that with a balloon. The winds are going to take you where they're going to take you. So right now,
01:46they're out over open water and the next landmass that is a place where they could land is going to
01:53be, you know, most likely France, maybe UK, maybe Ireland. It depends on how the winds go here in the
02:01coming hours. But you did say at one point that while they can't turn around, they can steer north
02:07and south. How does that work? Well, the only way you can steer a balloon. The only way you steer
02:13a balloon
02:13is by going up and down. By going up or down, you go into different wind layers that could be
02:18at
02:19different speeds and sometimes at different directions. Case in point, they're headed in a
02:26northeast pattern right now, flying at around 13,000 feet. If they were down, let's say, just above the
02:33surface of the ocean, they'd be going almost due north. So you have these different changes in speed
02:38and direction. And that's how you maneuver a balloon by changing altitude. So this is not the
02:44way if this isn't like you're working a rudder. No, it is. It is a much, much different, much
02:52different experience. And you said, you know, the interesting thing is most people don't think
02:58about what is fuel. What do they use for fuel? Well, what they use for fuel is they're flying under
03:06hydrogen. That is the lifting gas that we would call it. That's giving them the buoyancy and the
03:12ability to go up higher in altitude. What you see here in this picture, it looks like a brown streak.
03:19That is their gas or their fuel. And we call it ballast. Usually it's sand. Sometimes it's water.
03:27And what that ballast does is it adds weight to the balloon. So you're probably wondering, well,
03:32how is that fuel? Well, you have to have a certain amount of weight with you in these gas balloons
03:39to be able to maneuver when you approach a landing. You know, like a lot of people say, you can
03:46teach
03:46a monkey how to take off an airplane, but you can't teach one to land one. And that's kind of
03:51the same
03:52thing is that you need sand to land because if you need to change altitude, if you're on an approach
03:59and you see a power line coming, you have to be able to maneuver up or down. And you do
04:04that by
04:04letting go of weight. And that's what they're doing here. This picture shows the balloon over
04:10and near Nova Scotia yesterday, showing them dropping sand so that they can allow the balloon to go up
04:18higher to a predetermined altitude. So they basically have been carrying with them hundreds of pounds of
04:25sand, but they've been using the sand over time. So the trick is, is have enough that when they get
04:32to mainland Europe, that they have enough to safely land, to make a safe landing.
04:37So in order to rise, they drop off ballast. And in order to drop, they drop off, they drop out
04:45gas.
04:46That's right. There's a vent at the top that vents the hydrogen gas.
04:51Hydrogen. That's pretty dangerous, isn't it? When you say hydrogen, I think of the Hindenburg.
04:56Well, most people think of the Hindenburg. Actually, if done correctly, hydrogen is very useful. It can be
05:02very safe. The fabric that you see here that this balloon is made out of is a special fabric that
05:09reduces static electricity, reduces the things that would cause a spark to cause a hydrogen explosion.
05:15Hydrogen isn't going to explode unless the oxygen to hydrogen mix is, is just right. But you know,
05:24it can happen. But in this situation, they're using it very safely.
05:27Can they be hit by lightning?
05:30Yes, that is a concern. And that's why you have a weather person like myself,
05:34try to keep them out of weather. Lightning is, is the, thunderstorms is the number one
05:39enemy of balloons. Second would be a lot of accumulation of ice. So that's why when we
05:45make an endeavor like this, you have to plan, flight plan, let's say, around expected weather events.
05:53So you're not flying in them.
05:56Wow. So you're expecting them to land. When do you expect them to land?
06:02Well, they, they, they are, um, at the speed that they're traveling and the projections that we have
06:09of them flying between 12 and 14,000 feet is where they're at now. This would bring them to mainland
06:16Europe late Saturday. Uh, no, right now it looks like they're probably headed towards France.
06:23They may end up as far North as the UK, but, uh, around or just after sunset local time on
06:30Saturday.
06:32Which would be what time where you are?
06:37Um, so you'd be about six, seven, eight hours behind.
06:43Okay. This is the dangers here seem to be phenomenal. Uh, how fast are they traveling?
06:50Well, that's the thing with balloons, you know, and sometimes you could only be doing 10, 15 miles an hour.
06:56Other times you can be moving along pretty good. Now through the course of, you know, here recently,
07:00before we got online, they were, they were doing 70 miles an hour, which is an excellent, 70, which is
07:07an excellent speed.
07:08That's why they're scooting across the Atlantic pretty quickly. Now we've identified that the best wind speeds
07:16would be in this 12 to 14,000 foot layer. And, and that's why, uh, positioning, getting them to the
07:23correct altitudes
07:24at the right time at the right longitude and longitude, uh, and the, at the right direction is, is so
07:30critical.
07:31Um, there may be times today they, they go close to 80 miles an hour, but when you're covering an
07:36ocean,
07:37you need to have wind speeds of that type because, uh, you can only carry so much sand and you
07:43can only carry so much food and water.
07:47And how much food and water do they have for how many days they planned?
07:51They planned, they planned on worst case scenario to be about six days, but it looks like we're going to
07:55be able to do it in about four.
07:58Okay. So the obvious question that many people are wondering, uh, can you, first off, can you describe the wicker
08:04basket that they're in?
08:06Well, for those of you who are familiar with a hot air balloon or have ever been in a hot
08:10air balloon,
08:11it's that kind of wicker basket. It's just much larger. Um, but keep in mind, it's got to be big
08:16enough for three people and all the gear, which makes it very, very cramped. So you're, you're looking
08:22at something that's maybe about, uh, little less than 10 feet wide and about 12 feet long. So it's,
08:29it's, it's pretty small, um, once you put all your gear in there and it's open air, which means they
08:36are
08:36exposed to the elements. In fact, earlier this morning, they got snowed on a little.
08:39And how, what's the temperature up there in the twenties? That's chilly. Then there's the other
08:47question that most people are curious about, but they don't say out loud. How do you take care of
08:53bodily functions in an open balloon that high when the temperature is in the twenties and you're moving
08:59at 80 miles an hour? Yeah. Well, the thing is, is you are moving at 80 miles an hour, but
09:05you don't
09:05necessarily feel like it because you, you're, you're, you're riding with the wind. So you're,
09:11you are the wind, so to speak. So you don't necessarily feel that 80 mile per hour wind
09:16blowing over you. Um, however, you do need to be very familiar and very comfortable with your,
09:22uh, co-pilots, uh, because you just have to let go of any modesty. And what you do is, is,
09:28uh, they,
09:29they have a, you know, a five gallon bucket like thing where people are able to do their business.
09:34Um, and, uh, you know, you just, uh, make sure that, that you have that moment in time where no
09:40one's looking and you have that private time to yourself. And then for sleeping, they take turns.
09:44They have a special platform that allows them to be completely horizontal inside the basket and have
09:52enough room. And sometimes what you do is you have a trap door on the side of the basket to
09:56allow your
09:57feet to hang out. Uh, and then you just, you make sure that people sleep in shifts. So you have,
10:03make sure that you have people who are rested because at flying at these altitudes, now they,
10:09they do have oxygen. Um, and you have to be wearing oxygen or you, you, you start to lose
10:16some cognitive ability. So they do have onboard oxygen, um, that they're able to, to, uh, have
10:22through candelas in their nose. So when they, when you get above 12,500 feet, you, you're required
10:28to, to wear oxygen. So they are going to be for the next 36 hours or so, they are going
10:35to be able to,
10:36to, um, have to be on oxygen. That also dries out your nasal areas. It's, it's, it's a situation
10:43to where it's good to have it, uh, because it does help you along. It also helps with fatigue.
10:50So are they, so for a period of time, they're on oxygen 24 seven or just when they feel like
10:56it?
10:56No, no. When you're, when you're at those altitudes, you need to be on it all the time.
11:03Wow. This sounds like it's dangerous and uncomfortable. Why are they doing it?
11:09Well, one of the pilots, his name is Bert Padelt. He's been a boom balloon pilot for
11:14pretty much his whole life. Uh, and he's also makes these balloons that hold gas. And he has
11:22worked on several round the world flights. You may remember the name, Steve Fawcett, uh, who was,
11:28a wealthy businessman who, who did the first solo balloon flight around the world. Um, and,
11:36and Bert has worked on projects with, uh, Richard Branson with, uh, with Steve Fawcett and some others
11:43on these around the world attempts. And he's always wanted to do this himself. This is one of
11:47these situations where, Hey, I've helped a lot of other people achieve things like this and I want
11:53to do it. And, uh, so this is his opportunity. And the other two pilots, Peter Cuneo is a, is
11:59a, uh,
12:01well-accomplished, uh, competitive gas balloon pilot from Albuquerque. Um, who's got a long history of,
12:07of, uh, winning, uh, balloon races. And Alicia Heppelman Adams is the young woman who's along from
12:14the UK. She's the daughter of David Heppelman Adams, who is part of the Explorers Club, climbed Mount
12:20Everest. He has a host of balloon records as well. So kind of keeping it in the family. Uh, but
12:26this
12:26is, this is certainly not for the faint of heart. Uh, you have to be very confident of your skills.
12:31I mean, and built, Bert built this balloon. He built it. Um, so he's flying the aircraft he built.
12:38Uh, um, but at the same time, these can be enormously challenging, but enormously satisfying as well,
12:46because there's a lot you've got to do to, to put it together. So, you know, for those of you
12:50thinking that there aren't any pioneers or true spirit out there anymore, you know, there's still
12:54a lot of things to accomplish. What is their target for land? Where do they plant? Where would
13:00they like to land? Well, as you can see right here, this is a, what we call a trajectory tool.
13:06This shows their current position here as in the last hour or so. And these lines show different
13:11elevations and altitudes over time. And these lines represent about 40 hours of time. So if they
13:19continue at the predicted forecasted winds for another 40 hours at the altitude that they're at
13:26now, you can see that they're, they're headed towards France. Now, if they have to deviate,
13:32go around weather and change altitude, that could take them further north or further south. So this is
13:39very idealized, but this is, this is where they're headed to. So, and so they're going to be landing
13:46sometime this Saturday, the way you're forecasting it. Yes. However, here's the however, if they get
13:55into France or wherever they end up in Europe, in, in, in, in the dark, okay, you don't want to
14:01really
14:01land in the dark. So if the weather, uh, is coinciding with, you know, good weather is expected
14:10overnight and they have enough ballast or that fuel, they may decide to fly on and land in Germany
14:17roughly the next day. So they may actually land Sunday if they arrive in France too late on Saturday.
14:25Okay. So there's these, these things, it's things like this are changing constantly. So when people
14:33say, well, how long is it going to be and where exactly are they going to land? Well, I can't
14:37tell
14:37you, I can give you what the approximate estimate is. So, um, there's, there's, there's a, there's a,
14:44there's a good possibility they land tomorrow evening, local time or Sunday morning, uh, somewhere in
14:49southern Germany. Do we, will we have a chance while they're in route to get any live feeds from
14:54them? Uh, yes. Now they're very busy. Um, they do have a Facebook page where they are posting some
15:03videos and some photos, um, and they have a star link. So they've got really good communication
15:09ability. All right. Because when you're sitting in a balloon going across the Atlantic, one wonders,
15:16when you say they're busy, what's there to do? Well, you have to manage the flight. So I talked
15:23about ballast. You have to have someone there who needs to let sand out so they can maintain the
15:28altitude. Sometimes the balloon will fly itself, so to speak, where it will find a sweet spot,
15:35but you have to, you have to be, somebody has to be flying it, piloting it, uh, the whole time.
15:43And it's, it's very taxing because you're, you're, you're monitoring your direction, your speed and
15:48your altitude, and you are constantly making adjustments. Uh, how do they deal with updrafts
15:55and downdrafts? You try to keep them above that. So, so what do you mean by above it? Where do
16:02you,
16:02what altitude? So updrafts, updrafts. Okay. First, um, I, Gary, hold on. I got to grab this. I was afraid
16:11this was going to happen. Just a minute. No worries. Okay. That was, that was the wife of
16:18one of the pilots that they're currently in Maine, but they need to be over on the mainland
16:25Europe to be there to help when they land. So they're getting on a flight to Paris.
16:32So you got to remember there, they've left one continent. They're going to another. So they need,
16:38they need logistics once they get on the other side.
16:42This is fascinating. Um, well, if we can get, uh, some, some video, get a video link, it would be,
16:51uh, really interesting. And you were telling us that the updrafts and downdrafts only go up to a
16:58certain altitude. What altitude is that?
17:00It depends. Depends how warm the day it is. It depends on what the ground cover is like.
17:05Being over water, you have much, much less thermal activity and the atmosphere can actually be much
17:11more stable. Um, yes. But if you are over a landmass at the, let's say noon hour, the maximum amount
17:19of
17:20heating, you can get thermals that can go up to 10, 15, 20,000 feet. Um, but right now your
17:28thermal
17:28activity over the ocean is not going to, it's not going to reach the altitude that they're at.
17:33Okay. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about this flight?
17:38And I know other than, you know, you know, the, the history of, of ballooning, um, you know,
17:43goes back to the McGuffey, McGuffey brothers, uh, who are kind of credited to, uh, really start
17:49ballooning and they're from France. So I guess it's perfect that if they landed France
17:54or somewhere nearby that that's very appropriate for those who don't know, Don Day is probably,
18:03he's a little bit humble about it, but he's probably one of the foremost experts on high
18:08altitude manned balloon flights. Don, thank you. I'm glad you're, you're with us and we'll see you
18:16in a couple of days, be stays safe, keep these people safe and God bless America.
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