# Fossetts millions wasted on a balloon ride... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 3, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191 "2002-07-03T14:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![i\_rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@i\_rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_rage)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/1 "2002-07-03T14:00:23Z")
Maybe I’m just not seeing the value of the balloon ride around the world. If I had millions to blow on so many attempts to circle the world, I think I would have spent it on something that would have benefitted my fellow man a little…like AIDS or Cancer research…maybe developing a better prosthetic leg or arm…but BALLOON RIDES? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/2 "2002-07-03T14:04:33Z")
It did benefit his fellow man. All the people who worked on the project had jobs and got to feed their families. Just because it’s a frivolous use of money doesn’t mean it’s a waste of money. Throwing the money off the balloon would be wasting it. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/3 "2002-07-03T14:09:34Z")
I’m just glad it’s over. Jeez…I don’t understand the need for this type crap, next I hear he’s doing some glider stunt. Maybe he’ll kill himself and finally be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/4 "2002-07-03T14:25:09Z")
Yeah, yeah, and the money you spent on the computer so you can browse the internet or indulging in your favorite hobby could have been spent helping the homeless. Just because he’s rich doesn’t give you any particular right to question how he spends his money, nor does it require Fossett to be any more saintly or philanthropic than the guy next door. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/5 "2002-07-03T14:25:37Z")
The guy is pretty fucking insane. In addition to the balloon stuff, he’s done the 24hour LeMans, the Iditerod (sp?), the Ironman, and swam the English Channel. Next he’s flying a glider into the stratosphere. Sounds like a fun life. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/6 "2002-07-03T14:38:33Z")
He can do what he wants with his money, but I don’t understand the compulsion to go around the world in a balloon. Though, it does sound less insane than flying a glider through the stratosphere! ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/7 "2002-07-03T14:38:46Z")
Wonder how much Fossett does donate to charity. Much of his ballon expenses were paid by Budweiser for advertising. I wonder how the hell can be run a commodity trading business and still be able to train for the totally cool things that he does. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/8 "2002-07-03T14:38:46Z")
It’s his money. He’s free to spend it as he likes. Now if he had applied for a gov’t grant to do this, you would have a right to bitch, because your hard earned money would be forcefully taken from you for this endeavor. But it’s his money and time and it cost you nothing. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/9 "2002-07-03T14:38:46Z")
## Yeah, yeah, and the money you spent on the computer so you can browse the internet or indulging in your favorite hobby could have been spent helping the homeless. Just because he’s rich doesn’t give you any particular right to question how he spends his money, nor does it require Fossett to be any more saintly or philanthropic than the guy next door. I guess I don’t need to post! This was what I was thinking, especially the computer part. ---
**Author:** ![Zappo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b3f665/32.png) [@Zappo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zappo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/10 "2002-07-03T14:40:15Z")
**i\_rage** , it’s his money. He can spend it any way he wants. If you had his money and wanted to use it to cure cancer or AIDS more power to you. If you wanted to spend it on bubblegum and socks, go for it. Fossett can spend his money the way he wants to and you can spend yours the way you want to. That’s the beauty of it. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/11 "2002-07-03T14:48:19Z")
Its not up to Steve Fossett to cure AIDS or Cancer. Take a look at how much Governments (including your own) around the world spend on weapons development and then come back and criticize Steve Fossett. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/12 "2002-07-03T14:56:22Z")
I don’t have a problem with his spending his money on silly “adventures”, if that’s what he wants. But I’d like to see him do the balloon stunt again, only with a _real_, i.e., _helium_ balloon. Somehow a giant hot-air balloon just doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of ballooning. To maintain bouyancy at all, a hot air balloon requires continual blasts of heat from the burner; the burner mechanism is usually extremely loud; and a long trip requires a great many fuel tanks. If something goes wrong with the heater, the balloon will eventually start to sink faster and faster, and cannot be slowed by jettisoning anything. Now a helium balloon, on the other hand, floating merely by its own bouyancy, and controlled by releasing gas or sand as required, that’s a real balloon! ---
**Author:** ![i\_rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@i\_rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_rage)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/13 "2002-07-03T15:01:47Z")
I guess it wouldn’t have bothered me so much if it wasn’t SO MANY attempts and SO MUCH media hype…I envy the fact he can afford to do it, yeah, but I think I would be less self-indulgent if I had that much money and time…I don’t think that’s a bad attitude to have, either. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/14 "2002-07-03T15:17:42Z")
I encourage him to spend his money. But not on a boring-assed balloon. Think about it - it’s a **freaking balloon**! What fun is that? I think he should buy a surplus Russian SST Fighter, soup the hell up out of it by attaching a rocket, and try to break some sort of round-the-World speed record. Or try to put himself into orbit. Or both, if things go terribly, terribly wrong… \*I’m not saying balloons and ballooning aren’t great fun to some people - just not to me, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/15 "2002-07-03T15:18:54Z")
:shrug: It’s his money. He earned it, he gets to decide what to do with. Ditto for Budweiser. The guy had a dream and chased it hard, got what he wanted. For all we know, he may donate huge amounts of money to charity, but what he does with his money is between him and his conscience. ---
**Author:** ![i\_rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@i\_rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_rage)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/16 "2002-07-03T15:26:40Z")
"I think he should buy a surplus Russian SST Fighter, soup the hell up out of it by attaching a rocket, and try to break some sort of round-the-World speed record. Or try to put himself into orbit. Or both, if things go terribly, terribly wrong… " Rock my world! ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/17 "2002-07-03T15:40:34Z")
Aren’t you at all relieveed that the flying-around-the-world-solo-in-a-balloon barrier has finally been broken? Who knows what mankind can now accomplish? ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/18 "2002-07-03T15:51:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by javaman \* > \*\*Now a helium balloon, on the other hand, floating merely by its own bouyancy, and controlled by releasing gas or sand as required, that’s a real balloon! \*\* What exactly do you think _was_ in Fossett’s balloon? It was a combination hot air & **helium** design, which was necessary to overcome atmospheric and other obstacles. Insulating the helium from the vagaries of day vs. night temperatures being the most formidable obstacle. And **tretiak’s** sarcasm brings this thought to mind: although Fossett’s success in itself means nothing, technological and scientific progress was necessary to accomplish the feat. These advances may find their way into improving the world down the road. What did landing on the moon in itself do for the world? Relatively little, _compared to_ the advances that resulted from the process of the endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![peasea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc79bd/32.png) [@peasea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peasea)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/19 "2002-07-03T16:03:13Z")
Fosset’s ground control was based at my alma mater, Wash. U. in St. Louis, so I’ve been hearing about his attempts at heroics in detail over the last six years. I admire his chutzpa (sp?), but the guy’s arrogance really bugs me. His sole responsibility in the balloon gondola was raising/lowering the craft. His control crew, on the other hand, plotted his course for him, reading weather patterns and advising him which elevations to go to to catch cross winds, as well as communicated with all sorts of countries to ensure his safe passage through their airspace. Yes, his life was at risk, but it was up to the brains on the ground to save it. A trained monkey could have done Fosset’s job (hmm…is there a record for _that_ yet?). Yet, yesterday, in an address to his ground crew (sorry, no link, just heard it on the radio), Fosset’s comments were about _his_ physical suffering and the pride he felt after _he_ finally accomplished this feat. There was no “oh, by the way, thanks for keeping me alive. I exist now only because of your efforts.” Any professional race car driver would sooner credit success to his teammates than mention how tough _he_ had it. Perhaps I’m being unfair, but then, the Pit is not exactly reserved for rational arguments, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191/20 "2002-07-03T20:58:44Z")
I just don’t get all the breathless media coverage. So he flew around the world in a balloon. Big freakin’ deal. Lindbergh flying solo across the Atlantic, now that I can see. That flight heralded the dawn of transoceanic air travel. But this balloon ride heralds what, exactly? The coming age of floating millionaires? Why is this important? Or why is it more important than, say, the first guy who successfully farts the tune to “The Star Spangled Banner?” I’m going to be really upset if National Geographic wastes any space on this bozo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fossetts-millions-wasted-on-a-balloon-ride/117191.md?page=2)