Jonathan Trappe is living the fantasy of every 5-year-old child who ever held tight to a balloon, looked up and dreamt of floating to the clouds.
This summer Trappe brings his dream of balloon-powered flight to northern Maine.
Trappe will be in Aroostook County from July potentially through September, waiting on the weather window he needs to launch his trans-Atlantic balloon flight.
“During that time I will stare at the sky, stare at the sea and wait for the right weather system — the high pressure ridge — that can carry me across the waters,” Trappe said.
Northern Maine has already played host to successful trans-Atlantic balloon flights, with The Double Eagle II in 1978 from Presque Isle and the first solo flight in 1984 that launched from Caribou.
Trappe is a “cluster balloonist” — think the Disney movie “Up” in which the hero used thousands of small balloons to lift his house and float away to South America.
“I will use 365 individual balloons and I anticipate an inflation time of roughly 12 hours with 50 volunteers,” Trappe said. “The balloons are commercially available and are typically used for events such as open houses or for promotional purposes [and] it is fair to say that their manufacturers never intended them to be used for manned flight [because] they are toy balloons.”
Trappe estimates it will take between three and six days to cross the ocean, depending on altitude and wind currents.
Read more: Balloonist looking to soar to Europe from northern Maine under hundreds of balloons — Aroostook — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine
No comments:
Post a Comment