A British adventurer made national headlines as he flew 25km across South Africa suspended from 100 helium balloons.
Tom Morgan, from Bristol, reached heights of 8,000ft while strapped to the camping chair which formed the base of his makeshift aircraft.
Tom, who is part of a group called The Adventurists, spent two days inflating balloons before the flight, which he described as ‘magical’.
“It was a fairly indescribable feeling, wafting across Africa on a cheap camping chair dangling from a load of balloons,” he said. He also admitted feeling; “somewhere between terrified and elated” as he rose into the air.
As the balloons drifted towards the inversion layer of the atmosphere – where the temperature rises – the flight started to accelerate quickly and Tom had to start gradually cutting the balloons away.
The two-hour flight was a test run for Tom’s aim to eventually set up a competitive helium balloon race next year, although he acknowledges the need to “avoid areas with lots of spiky bushes”.
