The Balloon
THE BALLOON
Bert Padelt built this Toshiba balloon in his factory in Bally, Pennsylvania.
The weight was critical. As David has not lost the two stone he promised Bert they have had to make a super lightweight basket and envelope to compensate. The basket is no bigger than a coffee table. The balloon gas cell is AA 6 and the envelope is 37,000 cubic feet.
Joanie, Bert's wife, is the unsung heroine who did all the sowing and building of the balloon.
The balloon is white with two logos of the sponsors, Toshiba and XP Power. It is 4ft long, 4ft high and 4 ft wide.
The basket is so small a cat flap has been designed so David can put his legs outside.
LIFE ON BOARD
David's diet will include ginger biscuits, pork scratchings, soup and tea. He will cook on the bottom of the basket using a camping stove. Sleep will be minimal, taking cat naps half an hour at a time.
David will take a pee bottle and when it comes to a number two it will go over the side in a bio-degradeable bag.
David said, "Having spent months preparing with the fabulous team it will be fantastic to be in the balloon giving the record my best shot. It should be an exhilarating and beautiful flight, I'll be taking photographs of the sunsets and sunrises and hopefully shooting stars." David will be receiving air traffic control, weather information and doing a blog via Toshiba's new laptop, the Portégé R500.
THE TEAM AND EXPERTISE
Weather information will be coming in from meteorologist, Luc Trullemans, one of the most successful weather men in the world.
Air traffic control will be conducted by Kevin Stasse who has worked with David on several balloon flights before. Clive Bailey, who worked with David on his North Pole trip, will be flight director.
There will be four pilots based at the headquarters: Richard (Mitch) Mitchell, Johnathan Mason, Jordan River-Cruises and (name tbc)
The launch team will be balloon designer and builder, Bert Padelt and Tim Cole, two of the most experienced balloonists who have worked with David on several flights before. Nigel Mitchell will also assist at the launch and with all the logistics.
EXPEDITION HQ
The headquarters of the Toshiba Transatlantic flight will be in Weybridge, Surrey, where the team will be based. They will provide 24 hour cover liaising with David and the media.
Captive Minds PR agency will be running the media campaign from the control room. They will be updating the world's press and broadcast stations as they follow David's progress across the Atlantic with regular information on the flight website; this will give speed, location, altitude, photographs and blogs.