- Title: NETHERLANDS: BALLOONIST HENK BRINK ATTEMPTS ROUND WORLD RECORD
- Date: 15th January 1996
- Summary: SCHIPOL, NETHERLANDS (JANUARY 15, 1996) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF EQUIPMENT FOR "UNICEF FLYER" COMBINED HELIUM AND HOT AIR BALLOON 2. INTERIOR OF CAPSULE/ CLOSE UP CONTROL PANEL 3. UNIDENTIFIED MEN FIXING BOARDS INSIDE CAPSULE 4. DUTCH BALLOONIST HENK BRINK INSIDE CAPSULE SAYING IT IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR BALLOONING AND LAST CHANCE IN CIVIL AVIATION, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE EXCEPT FLY IN A BALLOON AROUND THE WORLD (ENGLISH) 5. FOOD BEING PUT INTO STORAGE CUPBOARDS IN CAPSULE 6. VARIOUS OF EQUIPMENT PILED UP/ BRINK CHECKING EQUIPMENT Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 30th January 1996 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SCHIPOL, THE NETHERLANDS
- City:
- Country: Netherlands
- Reuters ID: LVA20WSH2INMHQIWD4BZVVHOKTCV
- Story Text: Dutch adventurer Henk Brink said on Monday (January 15) is challenging British tycoon Richard Branson for one of aviation's last great achievements - the non-stop circumnavigation of the globe by balloon.
Brink will make the attempt in a pressurised capsule below the helium and hot-air balloon "UNICEF Flyer".
Brink was using the facilities of the Fokker aircraft company at Schipol airport near Amsterdam to prepare the balloon.
Branson is due to arrive in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Tuesday (January 16) to start his own attempt on the record.
Branson's "Global Challenger" team hope to start their attempt on Saturday (January 20) or possibly early the following week.
Brink, a helicopter pilot, and former Dutch air force pilot Willem Hageman are on standby to fly from the Dutch city of Nijmegen as they wait for ideal weather conditions.
The balloon will need winds to carry it south towards the jetstream, a high altitude current snaking around the globe at speeds of more than 320 km (200 miles) an hour during winter.
Brink and Hageman aim to climb to 11,000 metres (36,000 ft) once they get to the jetstream and then "surf" around the globe in a trip which Brink estimates will last between six and 12 days.
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