Fedor Konyukhov is already looking ahead to his next adventure just a day after breaking the world record for the fastest hot-air balloon circumnavigation of the Earth.

The Russian adventurer landed the Roziere balloon near the small WA Wheatbelt town of Bonnie Rock on Saturday afternoon.

During the 11 day journey his endurance was tested to the limit as he battled a storm in Antarctica and a broken heater.

Jacob Orlov was part of Mr Konyukhov’s team tracking him from the control centre in Northam, about 100 kilometres east of Perth.

He described the journey as a super-human feat, saying very few people could have matched the achievement.

“I’m so happy I think it is a miracle, it’s just incredible. It’s super human endurance,” he said.

“His heater was broken like two days ago. It was minus 55 degrees outside and minus 35 inside the gondola. But he is a remarkable person.”

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ABC News

Mr Konyukhov, 65, is hoping to beat Mr Fossett’s 2002 record of 13 days.

The flight path for his trip goes over Australia, the Tasman Sea, New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean, South America (Chile and Argentina), the Atlantic Ocean, South Africa and the Indian Ocean, before ending back in Australia.

Mr Konyukhov’s son Oscar described the launch as “perfect”.

“He just said goodbye, he was waving, he started to climb nicely and when we met him at 10,000 feet, he just keep flying with oxygen mask … enjoying the flight, enjoying the sunrise,” he said.

“He said ‘Australia’s beautiful from above!’ … I asked him what’s the feeling, he said ‘very, very nice’.”

Mr Konyukhov’s team began filling his balloon with helium about midnight in preparation for the launch, after about 30 volunteers from Northam helped lay it out on Monday.

There was a minor setback when a small hole was found in the canvas of the balloon in the early hours of Tuesday, but it was quickly repaired and the launch went off without a hitch.

“It’s a huge relief because we been working for two years non-stop, and it would be catastrophic to see something fall off or the balloon is not rightly built or we were wrong with the calculations,” Oscar Konyukhov said.

It was ideal … our six weeks of waiting paid off.

“Now we will have another stress because every minute something might happen. He is just flying into the unknown with custom-made equipment … it’s all experimental.”

Mr Konyukhov had arrived in WA in early June, with a cargo delay and a string of unfavourable weather delaying the world record bid.

A very risky undertaking (Dick Smith)

Fellow adventurer and friend Dick Smith, who was on hand for the launch, said the trip would be risky, but he believed the Russian could do it.

“No-one can predict what the weather is going to be like … Steve Fossett ended up right down just on the edge of Antarctica, which is incredibly dangerous, because in winter time it’s 24 hours darkness. You can’t be rescued there easily.

Source
ABC News