BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?

Subject: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: SharonA
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 03:43 PM

Hey there, Oz Catters!

I see on the news websites that US balloonist Steve Fossett has crossed the Australian coast (Great Australian Bight), so he's achieved his goal of circling the globe non-stop, but he's still looking for a place to land because the winds have been too strong for him to set down safely just yet.

Can anybody see him up there ....down there? *G*

Sharon

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST,ozmacca
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 06:25 PM

Well, if the winds keep up, he can try for the first ever twice-round-the-world balloon flight..... Mind you, the distance covered would probably be equal to just once around the world at the wide bit.

I just heard that he's in the far west of Queensland around Quilpie and may have landed.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 08:16 PM

Well done Steve Fossett.

The man is however slightly mad. He's now wanting to fly a glider to a ridiculous height into the stratosphere.

my guess is that he'll keep doing more and more dangerous things until he kills himself. A little sad.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST,ozmacca
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 08:44 PM

Maybe he will keep doing more and more dangerous things until he ends up dead, but we all do that, don't we? Life threatening activities like breathing the air, drinking the water, and eating the food....... Let's celebrate the loony adventurers who go out and do something non-threateningly different to other folks , just for the hell of it, and who make the news interesting instead of depressing. Now, who'd like to join me in the attempt to get to the moon by step-ladder?

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 09:11 PM

i am not too good at heights , but i will be happy to hold the ladder for you.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Deckman
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 09:40 PM

We all choose our own poisons, don't we. For example, I have a dear friend of many years, who refuses to give up chasing one particuliar lady. Everyone knows she is DEATH. She admitts it ... he agrees ... yet there he is ... chasing her again! Go figure? In this case, I'd prefer a crashing balloon from the heavens to this lady! Everyone to their own poison!

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 10:41 PM

G'day SharonA,

He's out where there are not too many Australians (or anyone else) ... although he will be heading for the populous east coast if he can't land.

The problem seems to be that he can't find a good tall tree to hit (apparently this is his landing strategy!). Possibly nobody bothered to explain that he would reach his mark above the Nullabor Desert ... and he doesn't speak Latin!

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 11:48 PM

I can't help but worry about a bloke whose landing strategy consists of 'find something tall and hit it'.... although I've driven with a fair few people whose stopping strategy seems to be the same......

And picking a continent to do it in, where only about 30% is populated, or indeed habitable, seems to me to be a little short on the marbles department....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 11:53 PM

yer up early today Liz, it's only 10 to 5 AM!

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST,ozmacca
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 11:53 PM

Could have a point there Liz... The big advantage of choosing Oz is the fact that you'd be less likely to hit anything, but the disadvantage is also that you'd be less likely to hit anything.... Hmmm. Maybe we should build a nice big brick wall with broken glass on the top for the man. That way, if he misses us, we'll get him on the next time around. And I could use it to lean my step-ladder against.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Helen
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 11:54 PM

ozmacca,

Have you been watching the opening scene from that old musical film, Carousel, again? (One of my favourite movie scenes, actually, with Gordon McRae up on a step ladder polishing the stars.)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST,ozamcca
Date: 03 Jul 02 - 11:58 PM

Oh, by the way - he did actually make it.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/020704/2/akpg.html

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 01:05 AM

Yeah, insomnia's a bitch ain't it!!! Not often I'm up posting this early, but I've been lying awake for hours and decided to do some more work on my family tree. As usual I got sidetracked....

Shame, I was just polishing me trowels off..... Ah well, I've still got plenty of time to learn how to lay bricks, I'll do it one day....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 02:48 AM

G'day all,

Good see that, despite not finding a tree to keep him upright, he managed to keep the gondola pointing in the right direction (UP)!

Just how remote this bit of country is, can be seen from the line in the news report: "He will then be flown to Sydney for a shower, shave (and press conference ...)".

(I'm glad he has a private jet ...!)

Regard(les)s,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Hrothgar
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 07:05 AM

I'm a very hard marker.

Did he really fly around the world if he didn't cross both the Equator and the International Date Line?

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 07:16 AM

G'day Hrothgar,

... So which way do you require? They are at right angles to each other!

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 07:22 AM

He did cross the date line.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 07:37 AM

I agree with Hrothgar, to actually fly the full circumference of the planet (a Great Circle) from E to W or vice versa, his course must be on the equator or cross it at an angle as well as crossing the date line. His altitude will only add a small distance - 2pi x altitude.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 08:16 AM

He flew around the South pole in some distance which was considerably less than the equator is from the pole. On this way he must have crossed each single meridian there is including the date line (which locally has some deviations from the meridian.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 08:19 AM

As established by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale - the International governing body of aeronautics - the rules say a pilot must set a course of waypoints within a band of the Earth that stays at least 30 degrees latitude south of the North Pole or 30 degrees north of the South Pole. The lines joining those waypoints (on a "great circle" projection) must stay outside those polar caps, although parts of the actual flight can drift inside them.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 08:38 AM

G'day again,

Having totally ignored this zillion dollar jaunt (and its predecessors) until now, I went off to look at the route maps. It seems that he crossed the Date Line very early in the trip and the route was almost entirely confined between 30º S and 60º (a brief dip further south between South America and South Africa).

This means he, more or less circled the Polar axis at a rough average of 45º S. If that was a straight line, he would have travelled 71% of the equatorial circumference ... but he probably went more like 85% (at the whim of the prevailing winds). This would be something like 34,000 kilometres.

It would be very nearly impossible to do the circumnavigation at the Equator, as the winds are more variable ... and a hell of a lot slower than "The Roaring Forties". He'd have trouble carrying enough supplies for an equatorial passage. (But he will probably try!)

Regard(les)s,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 10:03 AM

I spent a summer on an ice station, 800 miles north of Alaska and was the one who charted it's path. If we had made a complete circumference of the North Pole, which we didn't, would we have been the first people to float around the world? That's my kind of world record...:-)

Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: InOBU
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 02:24 PM

Hi Jerry, did ya walk around the pole? You could be one of the few who walked around the world, eh? CHeers Larry

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: InOBU
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 02:25 PM

New Challenge to any Mudcatter going to eather pole, attach a rope to the marker, get a good running go, and with the string to make the turn, be the first human to make a long jump around the world!!!! Cheers again, L.O.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 06:27 PM

You guys REALLY need to get out more.....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 06:32 PM

What's that supposed to mean Liz?

Just because you fail to see how other people might be interested in this, doesn't necessitate your criticism.

What's your problem?

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 06:36 PM

So you've had the sense of humour bypass as well then....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 06:40 PM

I don't think so - have you had surgery to reduce the size of your arse?

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: DonD
Date: 04 Jul 02 - 09:40 PM

I'm puzzled -- in American English, 'ass' means both backside and fool, as well as a beast ofburden. In British English -- that is, does the Queen say 'arse' for 'bum' and 'ass' for 'fool', or does 'arse' cover both?

I ask because it jusr struck me that GUEST seems to be following Liz around and making a fool of himself and thus in the Western Hemisphere is Liz's ass. If there were an operation to reduce him/her, it would be worthy of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Jul 02 - 03:01 AM

Ah, Infamy, infamy... they've all got it infamy!!

I'm having hysterics watching the antics of this GUEST... keep it up, the best laugh I've had for ages!!!

Ass is a beast of burden, a fool and also backside. Usually used by middle/upper classes (as in Lord Charles (vent act with Ray Allen) 'you silly ass').

Arse (vulg.) is usually used to denote the backside. It's never a beast of burden, but can be a fool, usually used by the middle/lower classes. It is the spelling most commonly used for the expletive. It's generally felt that ass is less insulting than the (vulg.) arse, with its upper class connotations.

Is it too late after midsummer to refer to GUEST as Bottom and get them some nice long ears and a carrot?

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 05 Jul 02 - 03:40 AM

I'm sure the Queen only ever says "bum": "arse" is impolite.

Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: allanwill
Date: 05 Jul 02 - 02:08 PM

Just something about the phrasing of the moron GUEST post makes me think he/she could be an Aussie - PLEASE don't let it be so!!!

Allan

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: MMario
Date: 05 Jul 02 - 02:23 PM

whereas in the US - "arse" would be considered a euphamism for "ass" -thus more polite.

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: SharonA
Date: 05 Jul 02 - 04:52 PM

Hello again, all, and thank you to the Oz Catters who updated the Fossett story. Haven't looked at Ozmacca's article yet, but I heard on TV that, upon landing, Fossett's balloon was dragged for about 15 minutes before coming to a stop. A tall tree might have been preferable, eh what? (or at least quicker...)

Yeah, it bothers me a little that the "round-the-world" trip wasn't exactly around the world, but it's still quite a feat in itself! After this, won't the glider trip seem a bit anti-climactic?

Subject: RE: BS: Australians, do you see the balloon?
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Jul 02 - 08:20 PM

Liz

Glad to have made you laugh