Cross your fingers

[tater]

My neighbor is missing.

Damnit.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ry?id=11754535

Hope Rich and Carol are found OK.

[Sailor Steve]

Fingers crossed.

[Takeda Shingen]

Here's hoping for the best.

[tater]

Day two, and nothing. Looking pretty grim. Ugh.

My understanding was that the missing baloon was hydrogen filled. You know where that is going.

try to see who can fly the farthest from a set point on a maximum of about 1,000 cubic meters (35,300 cubic feet) of gas.

[tater]

Yeah, H2.

if it ruptured during the storm at alt... OTOH, the ELT never went off, which is odd. Rich is pretty calm, you'd think if it got really ugly he'd try to put it down (they have survival suits, a raft, etc). This makes me sick. Saw his truck in the driveway earlier, made me sad. (he likes doing this stuff, but I feel sad for his wife and 2 kids (one goes to school with my daughter in 1st grade)).

[SteamWake]

Sad news sory to hear this I hope they are found.

You will never get me up in a flying thing that you cant steer.

[tater]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Sad news sory to hear this I hope they are found.

You will never get me up in a flying thing that you cant steer.

I've been up, myself, but only over albuquerque (which is dangerous enough). I don't know how actually dangerous gas ballooning is in terms of deaths per seat mile, etc. It might well be safer than driving, but the lack of control is pretty scary.

Originally Posted by tater

Yeah, H2.

if it ruptured during the storm at alt... OTOH, the ELT never went off, which is odd. Rich is pretty calm, you'd think if it got really ugly he'd try to put it down (they have survival suits, a raft, etc). This makes me sick. Saw his truck in the driveway earlier, made me sad. (he likes doing this stuff, but I feel sad for his wife and 2 kids (one goes to school with my daughter in 1st grade)).

I don't place putting down outside the relm of possibility. I don't know how these challenges are conducted, but were there other balloons in the area? I can't see other balloons getting too far ahead or behind the missing craft. If they go solo, what did the gondola look like? If he put down in a controlled manor the ELT wouldn't engage, and he may not have had time to manually engage the ELT. Any electrical charge could have set off a conflagration, and sink the gondola before any reaction.

[tater]

No other balloons nearby, they diverge rather remarkably (winds aloft at different speeds).

2 people aboard, and the gondola is pretty light. Rich's helium gondola is tiny, made of tubular Al and nylon. This one might have been more like a hot air balloon one (wicker).

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by tater

Yeah, H2.

if it ruptured during the storm at alt... OTOH, the ELT never went off, which is odd. Rich is pretty calm, you'd think if it got really ugly he'd try to put it down (they have survival suits, a raft, etc). This makes me sick. Saw his truck in the driveway earlier, made me sad. (he likes doing this stuff, but I feel sad for his wife and 2 kids (one goes to school with my daughter in 1st grade)).

Crikey!!....that's so sickening

Hope there may yet be a positive outcome.

Garth Sonnenberg of Albuquerque, a friend of Abruzzo's, said Wednesday that he had heard that the balloonists had problems with their radio throughout the flight. "We're hoping that it's a good possibility that it's just a radio problem," he said.

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by The Third Man

My understanding was that the missing baloon was hydrogen filled. You know where that is going.

Mind showing me anywhere in article where Hydrogen is mentioned.

[tater]

It is indeed an H2 race.

http://www.gordonbennett2010.com/sys...Approved_0.pdf

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

Mind showing me anywhere in article where Hydrogen is mentioned.

In respect for the missing I will give you a break, this time. But research beyond the posted arcticle can help you understand the situation in the future.