h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

North Carolina, where I currently live, is fond of boasting that the state is 'first in flight'.

This is because the first-ever manned flight of a powered heavier-than-air craft took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. This is where you find Kitty Hawk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NCMap-doton-KittyHawk.PNG

This is what somebody looks like who grows up to do something crazy, such as get in a kite like that:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Young_Orville_Wright.jpg

That flight was all the more remarkable considering the terrible weather in North Carolina - Elektra is calling it a micro-climate, especially after the tv people kept interrupting the shows last night with dire warnings of weather emergencies. They've got this computer software, you see, and they are determined to use it.

We said, 'Yeah, yeah, it's raining cats and dogs out there, and there's thunder. Loud thunder. So what? Can we get back to Alison's adventures in precognition, pretty, please?'

They said, 'No. There's nickel-sized hail in Climax, North Carolina. Mrs Buncombe is going to send us pictures from her cell phone. You gotta see this. Oh, and if you pay us $8 a year to put you on the phone list, we'll call you up in the middle of the night, so you can worry about the weather some more.'

I was more concerned with the fact that it not only was raining in nearby Apex, but that there turned out to be a town in North Carolina called Climax - where it was also raining. And maybe hailing. Maybe the size of a nickel, though some said a quarter.

Here are nickels and quarters for comparison. The nickel is the third row down, the quarter is the fourth:

http://www.leslie2k.com/images/CoinsQuiz.jpg

For the curious foreigner, a quarter is worth 25 cents, a nickel 5 cents. Now back to flying.

The reason I mention our glorious flying heritage here in the Tar Heel State is that a brave soul from Raleigh has done it again - and wowed our own BBC in the process, as well as disturbing some French cabbages and annoying some French policemen, always a laudable undertaking.

What has he done, you ask? And well you may.

Apparently, Jonathan Trappe of Raleigh has taken advantage of the long weekend here to become the first cluster balloonist to cross the English Channel. (He probably craved something to do that was at least as dangerous as navigating the traffic in Raleigh.) He was declared champ when he landed in a cabbage patch in France at 9 am today (your time, Brits).

He flew low over the Cliffs of Dover and overflew Dunkirk before annoying the farmers and the cops, who weren't happy with this form of evading customs until he dumped a lot of paper on them.

Apparently, Mr Trappe is a licenced pilot, and unlike his predecessor in cluster-balloon adventure, the infamous Lawnchair Larry, Trappe files real flight plans and gets all his papers stamped. He also used a radio to keep in touch with his ground crew, who raced through the Channel Tunnel to meet him on the other side.

They got there first - the traffic must have been light.

Trappe is a trooper - he's boldly gone where no one had gone before, and done it colourfully. I hope Raleigh gives him a tickertape parade.

I won't go, though, unless somebody gives me a ride. I'm afraid to drive over there.

If you want to see pretty pictures of Mr Trappe and his cluster balloons, here's a link:

http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news12456.html

Mr Trappe and his Cluster Balloons . . .

lovely story Dmitri! I was slightly concerned about the cabbages until I read that Mr Trappe had paid the farmer for any damage

He appears to be a model citizen, that Mr Trappe.

He also carried a transponder. Lawnchair Larry was a hazard to air traffic.

I watched the take off on TV and what struck me was how very calm Mr Trappe appeared to be, as if it were no big deal crossing the channel.

Well, it would for me, I think. I'd be really excited - but probably less afraid than I am of Raleigh traffic.

Fascinating stuff

I'm glad he survived - I didn't fancy updating A15850514 quite yet.

Come to think of it, I need to add Steve Fossett to that hall of fame. (I've got a piece of Fossett's round-the world balloon fabric kicking around somewhere - it's a long story)

That sounds like a good idea.

Maybe we should start a virtual h2g2 museum - everybody post pictures of interesting objects they own, with history.

Thanks for this news Dmitri! I see those are larger-than-normal balloons. I remember on the show Mythbusters they tested the notion that a child can be lifted into the air by taking too many helium balloons at a fair ... or like in that Mr. Bean episode where he ties balloons to a baby's carriage with the consequence that it lifts off and floats away! Anyways on the Mythbusters show they found that a typical child of 6 or 7 or so, would need about 3 000 'regular' balloons.

That would be a lot of balloons for a small child to hold onto.

And that reminds me of a quirky little television show back in the day, 'The Flying Nun', based on the idea of nuns with those imaginative aerodynamic wimples.

nuns have the habit of flying away in strong winds

Small ones do, at least.

it may not be a nun's habit

it could be a penguin

I do not wish to encounter a flying penguin.

nuns have the habit of flying! if they crashedwould that be 1 nundead and eighty ? double top needed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dfWzp7rYR4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzhDsojoqk8&feature=channel

I love the BBC. Thanks for that, Willem.