Furthest flight in a gas balloon (FAI-approved)

Furthest flight in a gas balloon (FAI-approved)
Quién
Troy Bradley, Leonid Tyukhtyaev
Qué
10,711.6 kilometre(s)
Dónde
Mexico
Cuándo
31 January 2015

Troy Bradley (USA) and Leonid Tyukhtyaev (Russia) established the greatest distance travelled in a non-stop flight in a gas balloon, when their helium balloon Two Eagles completed the 10,711.6-km (6,655.9-mile) journey from Saga, in southern Japan, to Baja, on the west coast of Mexico, on 31 January 2015. The feat was ratified by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale).

Two Eagles consists of a tiny 2.1-m by 1.5-m (7 by 5-ft) capsule weighing just 100 kg (220 lb), in which the crew lived for the duration of the flight. The balloon cruised at altitudes between 3,650 m and 9,100 m (12,000 and 30,000 ft). Since the capsule is unpressurized, this meant that the pilots had to wear oxygen masks.

Their marathon journey also broke the record for the longest-duration continuous flight in a gas balloon, staying aloft for 160 hours 34 minutes.