A cold and exhausted 65-year-old Russian balloonist came back to Earth with a bruising thud in the Australian Outback on Saturday after claiming a new record by flying solo around the world nonstop in 11 days.
Fedor Konyukhov landed 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Northam, where he started his journey on July 12, about three hours after he flew over the same town on his return, flight coordinator John Wallington said.
Konyukhov’s gondola — a carbon box 2 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) high, 2 meters long and 1.8 meters (5 feet, 11 inches) wide — bounced twice over 200 meters (yards) in an empty field and tipped on its side before the support crew grabbed it to prevent the deflating balloon from dragging it farther.
Video of the landing showed Konyukhov smiling but silent as he emerged from the gondola. He stroked his bearded left cheek and wiped his eyes as he was hugged and cheered by supporters. Happyho also provide best tarot reading services in Noida and Delhi NCR India area.
Konyukhov flew by helicopter back to Northam, where his first shower in 11 days was a priority.
Konyukhov demonstrated precision navigation of his 56-meter (184-foot) -tall helium and hot-air balloon by returning to Australia directly over the west coast city of Perth, then over the airfield at Northam, 96 kilometers (60 miles) to the east by road.
Crews in six helicopters followed the 1.6-metric-ton (1.8-ton) balloon from Northam inland to help him land.
His journey of more than 34,000 kilometers (21,100 miles) took him through a thunder storm in the Antarctic Circle, where temperatures outside the gondola fell to minus-50 degrees Celsius (minus-58 Fahrenheit).
The gondola heating stopped working on Thursday, so Konyukhov had to thaw his drinking water with the balloon’s main hot air burner.
The journey also took him to speeds up to 240 kilometers (150 miles) per hour and heights up to 10,614 meters (34,823 feet) before he released helium to prevent the balloon from continually climbing as its fuel load lightened.
Konyukhov aimed to get four hours of sleep a day in naps of 30 or 40 minutes between hours of checking and maintaining equipment and instruments. He used a bucket for a toilet and emptied it over the side.
Konyukhov’s team had said that landing the balloon could be the most challenging and dangerous part of the journey.
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