Frenchman Breaks Hot Air Balloon Record
A 28-year-old Frenchman has broken his own record for standing on top of a hot air balloon at altitude.
On November 10, Remi Ouvrard flew high above the town of Chatellerault in western France with his father, Jean-Daniel Ouvrard, who was flying the balloon.
They were taking part in France's Telethon — a charity event that raises money for research and support for people with neuromuscular diseases.
To match the charity event's 36-37 phone number, father and son wanted to get Remi and the balloon 3,637 meters above the ground.
An Agence France-Presse video shows Remi standing on a pink chair on top of the balloon while wearing a white astronaut suit. He holds two signs with the numbers 36 and 37 on them — numbers that are also on the side of the balloon.
But Remi and his father didn't just get to 3,637 meters. They went even higher.
Remi got to 4,016 meters, much higher than his February 2020 record of 1,217 meters.
After the flight was over, Remi said everything went really well and that the weather had been perfect. "I'm super happy," he said.
He had been standing on the balloon for an hour and a half in temperatures below zero degrees Celsius — although Remi said he had actually been "boiling" because of the heat from the balloon.
