25 Oct Man Successfully Flies Across South Africa Using Nothing But Balloons And A Camping Chair

We all dream of achieving the impossible; it’s simply a part of human nature. From winning the lottery to actually completing that diet you have been “committed” to for years, we cannot resist the temptation of possibility. After all, humans have walked upon the moon and our cellphones now talk to us, so what is the harm of a little imagination?!

Imagination is exactly what Tom Morgan has plenty of. When the 38-year-old announced that he would be flying over South Africa on a camp chair with nothing but 100 balloons to keep him in the air, people thought he was crazy. However, just like the Wright Brothers (who flew the first plane) he chose not to listen and went ahead with his outlandish plans.

Morgan, from Bristol in the UK, spent two days inflating the 100 balloons in preparation for his daring flight, which was to originally happen in Botswana. However, poor weather scuppered his plans and the thrill seeker was forced to abandon his mission.

“The problem was finding a good weather window and it was difficult to protect the balloons as they kept bursting,” Morgan explained. After several failed attempts in Botswana, the adventure moved on to Johannesburg.

With enough helium left for just one more flight, Morgan seized the opportunity to his unconventional flight.

With limited safety equipment in place, Morgan rose into the air as planned and began to travel through the sky. As he floated higher and higher, Morgan began to feel “somewhere between terrified and elated” as he surveyed the Earth below his precariously dangling feet.

As the balloons began to gain altitude they drifted towards the inversion layer of the atmosphere, where the temperature rises. Rather than be perturbed by the balloons as they quickly accelerated higher, Morgan stayed calm. “I had to keep my cool and start gradually cutting the balloons,” he said.

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