hot air balloon

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Where to Find Real America
 Where to Find Real America 
travel

Where to Find Real America

(Newser) - Travel writer Gary McKechnie helps USA Today round up some of the best places to get a taste of old-fashioned Americana:
  • Little League World Series, Williamsport, Pa.: The end-of-August tradition is free.
  • Mark Twain America, Hannibal, Mo.: Be like Tom Sawyer and go on a guided cave tour.
  • All-American Soap
...

Records Float Away for Hapless Skydiver

Balloon sails without him as Fournier muffs third shot at parachuting from outer space

(Newser) - The third time was not a charm for a retired French army officer-turned-daredevil who  hoped yesterday to parachute to earth from the edge of outer space. Michel Fournier's latest attempt to ride a balloon 25 miles up before his death-defying, 15-minute leap—a feat which would have smashed several records—...

Party-Balloon Aeronaut Priest Missing in Brazil

Priest raising money for his parish drifts out to sea

(Newser) - Rescuers in boats and helicopters are searching off the coast of Brazil for a priest who vanished while trying to set a world record for the longest flight with helium-filled party balloons, AP reports. The priest took off from the northeastern city of Paranagua in a chair with hundreds of...

Wireless Tech Leaps Forward ... on Balloons

Flying 'towers' could revolutionize rural Internet, cell use; Google interested

(Newser) - A decidedly whimsical business model could bring wireless Internet and cell service to wide swaths of rural America, slinging signals from balloons drifting toward the edge of space. Don’t scoff—the system is already providing services for truckers and oil companies, courtesy of Space Data Corp., and Google is...

RIP, Steve Fossett
RIP, Steve Fossett

RIP, Steve Fossett

Daredevil declared dead five months after disappearance

(Newser) - He vanished on a routine flight five months ago, and now daredevil Steve Fossett has been declared dead at the age of 63, the AP reports. The famous world record breaker was last seen flying a small plane over western Nevada where 15-20 private planes have disappeared since 1950. The...

Aviation Adventurer Is Missing
Aviation Adventurer Is Missing

Aviation Adventurer Is Missing

Search parties on the lookout for America's Richard Branson

(Newser) - Quixotic aviator and adventurer Steve Fossett, the first person to make it around the world in a balloon, was missing today when his plane disappeared over western Nevada. A search is on for his single-engine Bellanca, but the millionaire entrepreneur didn't file a flight plan, the AP reports.

Hot Air Balloon Bursts Into Flames, Kills 2

Passengers leap from fire as balloon launches over British Columbia

(Newser) - A hot air balloon went up in flames last night over Western Canada, killing two and injuring 11. The balloon erupted into a fireball as it was preparing to launch, but broke free of its tethers as passengers jumped off. They leaped from the burning balloon with their clothes on...

Couch Flies High in Chair
Couch Flies High in Chair

Couch Flies High in Chair

(Newser) - Kent Couch of Bend, OR, floated 193 miles at an average height of 11,000 feet  to La Grande, OR, in a lawn chair attached to 105 balloons. It took him almost 9 hours. He equipped himself with all the essential high-tech equipment to make the flight—a cell phone...

Polish Artist Installs Huge Nude Balloon in Italy

(Newser) - Polish artist Pawel Althamer has placed a 70-foot long nude balloon in a plaza in Milan. It is a self-portrait of the artist.  In Italy such a sculpture is "nothing new."   A passing American commented that it "wouldn't fly" in the U.S.

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