On March 21, 1999, an event occurred that had never happened before in the history of the world. The Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon, piloted by balloonists Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, touched down in an Egyptian desert, thus completing the first-ever nonstop balloon trip around the globe.
The remarkable feat of adventure was sponsored by Breitling from the start, as the brand behind such revolutionary pilot’s watches as the Navitimer and Emergency is no stranger to making aviation history. This year, Breitling is celebrating its 140th anniversary by highlighting some of its achievements over the last 14 decades, and it’s marking the 25th anniversary of the Orbiter 3’s record-breaking journey with a very unique special edition Aerospace watch.
The Balloon Seen ‘Round the World
You don’t hear a ton about balloon travel today, and even in the ’90s, it wasn’t exactly the most cutting-edge way to take to the skies. But for those who feel compelled to seek out adventure for adventure’s sake, the idea of traveling around the world nonstop in a balloon remained one of the most elusive feats during the twilight of the twentieth century.
11 teams had made 21 attempts at the journey in the years leading up to the Orbiter 3, and none were successful. When the Orbiter 3 completed its remarkable journey, the Breitling balloon had traversed 45,633km (28,355 miles) over the course of 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes. The balloon was piloted at an elevation of 30,000 feet, relying on jetstreams to travel in excess of 100mph.
“It was not only about flying around the world; it was about showing that we can achieve much more than we think,” co-pilot Piccard said in a statement.
