AROUND THE WORLD IN 11 DAYS
A 65-year-old Russian Orthodox priest lands his hot air balloon in the Australian Outback and sets a new world record of flying solo around the world nonstop in 11 days and 6 hours
PERFECT CIRCLE
Fedor Konyukhov landed 160 km east of the town of the Northam, where he started his journey on July 12, about three hours after he flew over it on his return. “He’s landed, he’s safe, he’s sound, he’s happy. It’s fantastic — the record’s broken, everyone’s safe. It’s all good,” flight coordinator John Wallington said. The flight took Konyukhov from Australia to above New Zealand, across the Pacific Ocean, South America, the Cape of Good Hope and the Southern Ocean. Konyukhov’s website mentions the polar jet stream which pushed him towards Antarctica. “This place feels very lonely and remote. No land, no planes, no ships,” he has said.
He just thought it would be a really nice thing to do. Breaking a record is a nice bonus, but the objective was just to fly around the world JOHN WALLINGTON flight coordinator