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Two Get Very High Part 2

Two get very high

Part two.

On the Sunday the 8th of May everybody assembled in Nottingham Road, accommodation was provided by Rawdons and a briefing took place at The Bier Fassl, a pub just up the road. Several weeks before we had started to refer to the Fassl as mission control. All systems go so after a meal entitled the last supper it was off to bed and a restless night.

We arrived at Estcourt well before sunrise and assembled the kit in quick order. The weather was perfect, flat calm on the surface with no more than 25 knots of wind all the way up.

To reduce weight we flew with only one pole and no covers. The crown line was also removed. The balloon was made ready to launch at 0640 just after the news! Conditions were so perfect that that I decided to go 20 minutes early. It seemed pointless waiting for the station.

We had a moment when we thought the oxygen system had failed, that would obviously have been a no go item. David fixed the problem and at five minutes later than hoped and after a count down from mission control we lifted at 0625.

Back in Nottingham Road several locals had gathered at the pub for a mission control party. It was fancy dress with a flying theme. Breakfast was cooked on a shovel in the fire of a traction engine. The party had started at 0600 and I understand that everybody was getting fully into the spirit of things by launch time!

We quickly made contact with Joburg East on VHF and had our pre allocated squawk already dialled up on the transponder. Passing 8000' Joburg said they couldn't see the transponder so Lev opened the box containing it and I hauled the antenna in. All was on and connected, I gave the antenna a gentle tap and sat it upright on the side of the basket and we appeared on radar.

The tracking system was working perfectly; Henry had re-housed the device in a manner that allowed us to see the power and modem lights without opening the box. Before we took off the unit was sealed and a couple of heat sticks broken and placed inside to keep the batteries working.

The climb happened as advertised. My biggest regret is that the last time I looked at the view was between 18 and 20k I could clearly see back to PMB and Nottingham Road with Midmar and Albert Falls Dam showing up very clearly. After this I caught quick glimpses of the view but concentrated on my GPS and the instruments.

Lev kept an open line into the station where an engineer sat in a separate studio crossed to the other presenters when he heard something interesting.

At 22,000' the laptop Lev was using to track us on 1:50000 maps packed up. We had put it in a case and if you have ever put a laptop on your lap, thought the heat would be enough to keep the battery working. Evidently, it is not.

Passing 25,000' I thought about continuous burning but the burners and pilot lights had not flinched so I kept burning normally. Mistake.

Around 28,000' the instruments stopped working, another mistake; I had not even considered the batteries in them.

Earlier on I had taken my glasses off as they kept icing over. I was clamping the oxygen mask to my face with my free hand and watching the little green light that tells you that the breath was correct like a hawk.

I also told ATC that I wouldn't speak to them again until I had dropped below 20k again. They knew where we were, we had the block of airspace.

Lev on the other hand was talking away. As we passed 25,000' David Mortimer called on the radio and advised that he talk a little less. I also started telling him to quiet down.

I kept watch on the altitude on my GPS and the crew on the ground called on the radio with the readings from the tracking system.

At 29,500' as I burnt the flame just blew out. I thought there could not be a hope that we would pass 30k now. Little did I know and only the trace afterwards would reveal it. When the instruments failed I became a little over zealous and burnt at a higher rate. That last burn and high rate of climb took us just over 30k.

Rather amazingly the crowd in the pub that had been following our progress on the internet rushed outside and were able to see us some 50km away. The radio signal from the tracking device was picked up across the country the

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furthest that I know of being Rustenberg.

As mentioned before Simon at the factory had already told me it would be unlikely that we would get the pilot lights lit until below 25,000'.

Now that I did not have to burn and with little chance of lighting the pilot lights I thought I would turn my attention to navigation. I also noticed that Lev was making slightly less sense than normal. I took the radio from his hand and sat him down. His oxygen mask was being made to stand proud from his face with a gap at the top made by the bridge of his glasses. I pushed it flat onto his face and told him to hold onto it. Within a few seconds I could see he was feeling better. His next problem that his hands were frozen and very painful.

I called Des, who was airborne sweeping beneath us in his micro light ready to provide communications with the crew should we drop behind a mountain. He would also be useful if we were miles from a decent track. Remember that we took enough fuel for the climb and a safe stop and no more. It would be a waste. The bush country to the East of Estcourt is pretty dense so a long wait for help to in a clearing just big enough was anticipated. Once again the radio tracking would be useful but an aircraft route finding for the guys was perfect.

I thought for a moment that we might need a doctor for Lev as he was in great pain. Best to start the wheels rolling as at that time we were heading across a big open area with few tracks and no major roads. We had a plan for the crew to instigate if help was required so I mentioned to Des that we might need to run it, but left it at might.

The descent was not too wild, well not as bad as I had frightened myself believing it would be. Perhaps the large basket with all the weight in the centre helped.

Physics tells you that the pilot lights will relight but what a wait. Yet another mistake was the length and position of the hoses for the oxygen. It actually made it very restricting. Not until we were below 20k did I remove my mask and then Lev his. It was then that he sat on the centre partition and poured sparks down into the burner can from a welding sparker whilst I cracked the main blast valve partially open. Almost as soon as he did this it worked. Above 20k we were trying from the side and it had no effect.

With the pilots lit the trip turned into a normal day at the office. I now took proper stock of our position and the dense bush beneath us. We were to the South East of Wheenen and heading towards Greytown.

Levs hands were coming back to life.

I decided to continue the descent to ground level to see what the wind was doing and then make a plan from there.

Mother Nature played ball with a 90 degree left turn towards Wheenen and the open farmland that surrounds it. We might even have made the airfield but with a big mountain behind it covered in dense bush I considered that a dumb thing to try and do. Instead we landed in a fallow field with small thorn bushes in it right next to a farmhouse.

Lev had resumed communications with the station, hindered by the fact that when I took the radio from him earlier I had just thrown it into one of the compartments. It then hid in a corner talking to us but with us unable to find it. The time without voice contact made for interesting radio as our descent was still being shown on the tracking screen.

The good people of Wheenen were asked to come out and wave and they did, in numbers. A farmer approached annoyed, oh no situation normal. I sort of recognised him, turned out that I had flown him and his family earlier in the year and he was sorry that I had not flown on another kilometre and landed on his farm.

After packing up it was back to the pub and a welcome I shall never forget. The phone started ringing, radio stations from across the country were calling and the following day we made every major paper in the land.

Getting to the height of Everest was achieved; watch this space for the next instalment! We do have something else planned.

Gary 9th June 2005

http://www.airborneadventuresafrica.com

About the author:

Gary Mortimer is a professional hot air balloon pilot who has his own balloon ride business on the Midlands Meander in Kwa Zulu Natal South Africa.