6,200-Mile Trip for Hot-Air Balloon

Richard Branson of England and Per Lindstrand of Sweden were expected to land on Vancouver Island in western Canada before 6 this morning after setting speed and distance records for a hot-air balloon in a 6,200-mile flight from Japan.

The pair set the previous distance record of 3,072 miles when they crossed the Atlantic from Maine to Ireland in 1987. This time they flew the jet stream across the Pacific at 24,000 feet at speeds up to 210 m.p.h. Their average speed was expected to be about 150. Their Virgin-Otsuka Pacific Flyer is the largest hot-air balloon ever built--taller than the Statue of Liberty. It lifted off at Miyakonojo, Japan Tuesday at 10:47 a.m. PST.

Early Wednesday when the supply of propane fuel used to heat the air inside the balloon seemed to be running low, they prepared to make a controlled ditch near Midway Island northwest of Hawaii. However, their lift increased when the sun warmed the metallic fabric of the balloon and they decided they could reach North America.