in a baloon. He landed in Australia a couple of hours ago. His next feat will be to fly a glider into the str atosphere. Too much money; too much time.
hmm.. does anyone else think this is stupid? I mean who really cares? If he did it before there were aircrafts or at the beginning of aviation, then this would be a great world changing accomplishment. But in 2002, this doesnt make me awe.
I agree! what a waste of time. Take away all communication and give him food and a compass ... only then I would be impressed.
yea, no kidding! ...nowadays everyone relies on that damn GPS!?! Hell I'd be in the middle of nowhere woods...100 miles from anything and hearing noises all around me and all I had was a rifle and compass to rely on. Man, who cares! I ain't impressed!
Did anybody see that episode of News Radio where Jimmy James tried to fake a ballon trip around the Earth? Lisa (interviewing Jimmy): Mr. James, can you give your exact location. Jimmy: Well, what does it look like, Lisa? I'm in a balloon! This reminds me, I need to change my signature.
If I'm not mistaken, this was his fifth or sixth attempt to do this. He finallly made it. No one has ever done it before. Anything that someone does for the first time, is pretty impressive. I think it is a massive accomplishment.
The only new thing, is that he did it solo. Considering that he had a computer to auto-pilot it while he slept, I fail to see the significance. I'm with you Nutcracker.
I remember that episode! God I love "NewsRadio"... why has it been taken off the air (no longer in syndication)?? I used to love watching those reruns!
If I'm not mistaken, this was his fifth or sixth attempt to do this. He finallly made it. No one has ever done it before. Perhaps he's the first to do it because no one else thought it worth doing. Like others, I would be more impressed if he wasn't armed with computer technology and autopiloting and constant communications with others, etc, etc.
I'm glad he finally did it, partially because it's something he wanted to do and partially so it doesn't plaster itself all over the news another time...but along with the suggestions of doing it without navigation equipment - anyone notice he took a pretty short path around the world, hovering around 50 deg S most of the time? I think it'd be more impressive to stay near the equator and do it; i.e. between 10 N and 10 S. There's still prevailing winds to guide him along if he chose that method, and it's a lot closer to "around the world" than this was.
anyone notice he took a pretty short path around the world, hovering around 50 deg S most of the time? What the hell? Put me at like 5 feet away from the South Pole and I'll RUN around the whole damn world in like 2 seconds. What a cheater.
As I recall, this is pretty close to what he's tried before, too. Looks more like a circumnavigation of Antarctica than the world to me.
I think the major victory here is not succumbing to the weather which, I believe, beat him down on all the other attempts. That's why the computerized equipment is so necessary. It did bring an element of skill and/or tactics into the attempt. Otherwise, to have done it would just be luck-- at the Mercy of mother nature. I'm not sure why that path was chosen. I would think it was weather related. Y'all are just jealous....
