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UPDATE! We completed our test flights in Leon, Mexico! Success!
We test-flew the little yellow boat, under helium balloons, to over 20,000 feet-- in manned flight! We even tested landing on a lake, to test the viability of landing on water-- if we need to ditch at sea. Check out our flying boat! This is the trans-Atlantic shakeout flight!
For the next test, I built and flew a massive cluster of balloons-- like we will need for the Atlantic Ocean; I used that cluster to fly a house! We had partnership to pay for the helium, and this allowed us to test building a massive cluster-- which serves as a proof-of-concept that we can actually build a cluster of balloons large enough for our trans-Atlantic dreams!
Video here;
Great pics in the Telegraph!
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I want to take a huge cluster of toy helium balloons, tie them to my tiny yellow boat, and fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
This childhood dream is an achievable reality. I can totally do this.
Didn’t you have a dream like this? As a child, didn’t you wonder if it could be done?
Years have been spent to get to this point, and we are an the brink of making history. I am an experienced pilot and I've flown cluster balloons many times.
I've conquered the English Channel, departing England, floating out over the iconic White Cliffs of Dover, and landing in the welcoming fields of France.
On a bitter cold night, many months later, I launched in France, crossed the Alps, and landed in the deep green fields of Italy the next morning.
If you open the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records, you will see me on the first full page, flying away in manned flight under the largest cluster of balloons ever built. Well, the largest built so far…
Because there she is, looming in front of us: The Atlantic Ocean. Nobody has made an attempt like this, and together, you and I might just ride the winds across the skies, and across the seas, to wonderful success.
What We Need
Can you imagine the number of balloons it takes? Even to get off the ground I need a massive cluster. But to be successful in this journey together we will need to build the largest cluster of balloons ever flown — eclipsing the current world record we set previously. We will need to fly longer than anyone has ever flown like this.
I will need wind. I will need helium. I will need hope.
To succeed, I need that precious, invisible gas: helium. I need 106,215 cubic feet of helium. That is the exact amount needed for this Indiegogo project. It is sold by Praxair, an industrial gas provider. It is invisible, yet vital.
There will be a television documentary made. If you cause this flight to happen, you will see what you have created. In news reports during the crossing, in the documentary that is to follow, you will know what you helped to make happen: dreams, inspiration, and genuine adventure for millions of people, even in our modern times.
The Impact
The stunning imagery produced during our expeditions takes people back to their childhood dreams. It is inspoirational. It is beuatiful. And it is unique.
The seemingly impossible is up for grabs. If we can throw ourselves into this great challenge and succeed, it reminds all of us what we can achieve as individuals, and as a team.
The project is real, and well documented. Our previous adventures were news sensations; covered live on TV, online and in newspapers around the world.
Other Ways You Can Help
I'm here, on the coast of Maine, in the USA-- staring at the sea, staring at the sand, and dreaming of what we can do, while working towards the goal. In addition to the helium, I need a launch site in Presque Isle or Caribou, Maine: A grassy field where I can stage the helium. Reach out if you might like to host the launch.
I need helium. And I need you. This is not a solitary event. I need so many people to come out in the dead of night and inflate balloons, when the moment comes. I need you to follow the flight as it unfolds—I will have a tracker that will show my progress on the website, as I fly. I need you to root for me, as you see the progress in the press. I need you to catch me from the sky when I make it across the ocean to any dry land on the far side of the sea.
If we can just get enough balloons, helium and hope, we can do something truly incredible.
