New Delhi: Textile magnate, Vijaypat Singhania, set a new world record by flying in a hot air balloon at 69,000 feet above sea level.
On Saturday, Singhania broke Per Lindstrand's existing world record for 'High-Altitude in a Hot Air Balloon'. Peter had reached a height of 64,997 feet when flying over Texas, USA, in 1988.
The aviator-entrepreneur took off on what is expected to be a five-hour flight at 0640, (IST) from the racecourse polo grounds in Mumbai.
Singhania's son, Gautam said that the three and a half hour ascent was quicker than expected.
"They are doing better than they had planned. On Friday, we estimated the descent to be one hour, but things are not going as per the plan. So, these things happen," he says.
Singhania, 67, flew in a pressurised capsule in sub-zero temperatures to achieve a feat that he describes as MI 70K?Mission Impossible 70,000.
The 1.6 million cubic feet capacity balloon, in which Singhania made his flight, was built in UK and is as tall as a 20-storey building.
At least 17 aviators had attempted to beat the existing high-altitude hot air ballooning record set up Lindstrand.
Singhania, who heads the clothing company Raymond Ltd, has been a keen aviator for over four decades and holds more than 5,000 hours flying experience.
He is also the only Indian to have won the aviation sports gold medal from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) for a 24-day world air race covering 34,000 kilometres in 1994.
This is a second world record for Singhania. His first was when he made a solo flight in a micro-light aircraft from Britain to India, in 1998.
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