FAQ

What is 'Project Yeti about?
'Project Yeti' is an attempt at 2 Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) world records. These records are:

	AX-1 Altitude – currently 2308m (7572 ft)
	AX-2 Duration – currently 4 hrs 8 min 20 sec

Should time and weather permit the team will also attempt 2 further records.

	AX-1 Duration – currently 2 hr 50 min 39 sec
	AX-2 Altitude – currently 4371m (14340 ft)

It is the culmination of over a years intensive work which has seen the design, development and amateur building of 3 ultra-light balloons. The records are being attempted mid winter in Canada where some of the coldest temperatures on earth are found.

The project brings together the technical difficulties of building super-light weight aircraft and extreme weather conditions.

What do AX-1 and AX-2 stand for?
The FAI uses a class / sub-class system to identify aircraft.

‘A’ stands for balloons.
‘X’ denotes that hot air is used to derive the lift
‘1’ is for balloons of up to 250m³ capacity
‘2’ is for balloons of between 250 and 400 m³ capacity.

So: AX-1 stands for balloons that use hot air to derive their lift up to 250m³ capacity.

What is special about the balloons being used for the project?
The balloons being used for the record attempts have been especially built for the purpose. 2 have been built using modern synthetic materials that are ultra strong and lightweight. The 3rd has been made from a polyester film which has a remarkable ability to insulate which will give better duration performance.

They do not have a basket because that would be far too heavy. Instead the pilot sits in a fabric seat, technology that has been borrowed from the world of paragliding.

An engineering analysis of the balloons provides the same level of safety factor as is required for type certified balloons.

The AX-1 balloon weighs 16 kgs (35 lbs), this weight includes the balloon, the burner, the pilot’s harness and an empty fuel tank.

What sort of training has the pilot undertaken?
Steve is a full time commercial balloon pilot and has logged more than 2000 hours flying balloons. The most significant challenge for him has been reducing his weight so that he doesn’t overload the balloon. He says that the diet has been underway for far too long.

Isn't the winter weather in Canada quite extreme?
YES! That is one of the reasons that the records are being attempted there. For a successful attempt at the world records to take place the team will need to have very cold weather conditions and light winds. For the AX-1 records to be successfully beaten the surface temperature during the flight will need to be colder than -25^oC.