RUSSIA: Local team claims new world record for flying in hybrid airship hot air balloon fitted with an engine

Russia claimed a new world record on Thursday (August 17) when a hybrid airship - a hot air balloon fitted with an engine - flew an altitude of over 8,000 metres. The airship, named Polar Goose, is an experimental airship developed with the help of the Russian air force, the Russian space agency RossCosmos, and ROSTO - a Russian public fund supporting aerospace projects. In the days ahead of Thursday's attempt, and during the preparations for the flight, the pilot of the airship Stanislav Fydorov, said the project's sponsors planned to develop the vessel further inorder that it can move to even greater altitudes. "We plan that such airships will rise up to an altitude of 10,000 to 12,000 meters, into the highest reaches of the atmosphere, where they will launch a small rocket to bring into orbit so called "nano-satellites'' that weigh between 2 and 5 kilogrammes," said Fydorov. But until successful modifications to the "Polar Goose", reaching such altitudes is simply a flyer's dream. On Thursday, Fydorov took off in the hope of reaching 9,000 metres. "We went up to around 8,000 metres, around 8,030 or 8,040 meters. We didn't reach 9,000, but what we have is certainly a world record which previously stood at 7,200 meters. We smashed the record by a big margin," said a confident looking Fydorov. Fydorov was alone in guiding the airship in its record attempt on Thursday, and wore protective clothing to protect against sub-zero temperatures at high altitude, and was kitted with his own supply of oxygen needed at high altitudes. The previous official world record was set at 6,614 metres in 2004 by a team from Great Britain. An unofficial record of 7,300 meters was established by German pilots who manned the Zeppelin airship in the early 20th century.

ITN Source | August 19, 2006

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