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Subject: Re: Circumnavigation
MLFinVA@XXX.XXX
Date: Thu Jun 27 2002 - 23:08:59 EDT
In a message dated 06/27/2002 18:40:31 Eastern Daylight Time,
wguinon@XXX.XXX writes:
> I see Steve Fosset is trying for another solo baloon circumnavigation but it
> doesn't appear that he will cross the equator. What is the definition here?
> Clearly just a short stroll around the pole wouldn't answer.
Ballooning counts a "circumnavigation" a little bit differently.
the official rules are (bottom 2/3rds of the page):
http://www.fai.org/ballooning/rtw2-98.asp
Fossett's web site summarizing this as:
http://www.spiritoffreedom.com/faq.html
Q: What constitutes "around the world"; The Earth is 25,000 miles around at
the Equator, but Fossett is staying well south and probably won't travel that
far. Will his flight still qualify?
A: Yes. As established by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale - the
International governing body of aeronautics - the rules say a pilot must set
a course of waypoints within a band of the Earth that stays at least 30
degrees latitude south of the North Pole or 30 degrees north of the South
Pole. The lines joining those waypoints (on a "great circle" projection) must
stay outside those polar caps, although parts of the actual flight can drift
inside them.
mark
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