The Hindu Business Line : India's own Fossett bids to touch God

HI-FLIER: Industrialist and aviator Vijaypat Singhania during a press briefing to announce his bid to fly a hot air balloon to the edge of space, in Mumbai on Tuesday. — Paul Noronha

Mumbai , March 29

HE is your Steve Fossett," journalist and adventurer Brian Milton said of his friend Dr Vijaypat Singhania.

Minutes earlier the city-based industrialist, known for his interest in flying, had announced that he would attempt breaking the current world record in high altitude hot air ballooning — a solo journey to 70,000 ft — to "touch the face of God."

According to Internet data, the absolute altitude record for balloons is held by Comdr M.D. Ross and Lt Comdr V.A. Prather of the US at 113,739.90 ft in the gas-filled `Strato Lab V.' Balloons are generally classified into hot air, gas-filled and roziere, a combination of a helium balloon inside a hot air one. Each type has 15 sub-categories, implying 45 claimants to ballooning world records.

But, as Milton said, there are only three ultimate height records. Dr Singhania's attempt will take hot air ballooning to its limit, to almost uncharted territory as the last recorded maximum height was 64,997 ft by Per Linstrand in 1988.

"God willing, I should be able to break the current record by at least 5,000 ft," the 67-year-old Dr Singhania said at a press briefing on Tuesday. Lindstrand had claimed that his record was "impossible to beat."

For his attempt, slated in November from Mumbai's Azad Maidan, Dr Singhania will use a 1.6-million-cubic-ft hot air balloon, the second biggest-ever built. Filled with 80 tonnes of air with a pressurised capsule for the adventurer strung beneath it, the balloon would be 30-storeys high and capable of cracking buildings should it collide with any. Getting the giant off the ground safely is the first risk to overcome.

The flight's main challenges thereafter are to person and propulsion. At 70,000 ft, atmospheric pressure would be 4 per cent that at sea level; if one were exposed to it, the blood would boil and the body would disintegrate. Nitrogen in the bloodstream must be prevented and for this, Dr Singhania would spend the hours prior to flight breathing pure oxygen, switching immediately to the capsule's supply on entry.

Further, most hot air balloons are powered by propane gas. Milton said the huge balloon would be equipped with 48 burners, of which 40 would be kerosene ones for the 3.5-hour ascent and the rest propane burners for slowing the 1.5-hour descent back to land, likely 130-160 km north-east of Mumbai. Worries would be dip in capsule pressure and surviving the inflammable trio of kerosene, propane and oxygen.

Should anything go drastically wrong with the balloon, Dr Singhania can separate his capsule from it and control the landing with a parachute. Andy Elson (who has worked with Fossett) and Colin Prescot are handling the technical side of the project.

Project `MI 70K' will be expensive and Dr Singhania declined to name a figure, though he is looking for up to seven sponsors. "The flight will go ahead, sponsors or no sponsors," he said.

Milton, who once lost an aviation record to Dr Singhania and then regained it, felt the latter compared well with millionaire businessman Fossett, who did the first solo balloon flight around the world and also the first solo non-stop circumnavigation in an aircraft. British tycoon Richard Branson, in comparison, hasn't pushed the solo edge.

"I am aware that I could become a laughing stock ... but I feel rather strongly that India needs a record in aviation," Dr Singhania said. Of the lurking dangers, he said: "There could be meteorite showers and solar flares at that altitude. I hope to tell God not to have them during that time." If November goes well, he is game for a crack later at the absolute altitude record.

But first, as is typical of all dreams Indian, Dr Singhania has a bit of bureaucracy to tackle. He would appreciate a duty waiver on the mammoth balloon to be built by Don Cameron.

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