Most of us could walk across a narrow steel beam placed on the ground without falling off. But raise the beam a little higher and many of us would be reluctant to walk across it.
Now imagine the same beam suspended between two hot air balloons flying at 20,000 feet. Would you even consider walking across it? Believe it or not, Dubai thrill seeker Mike Howard has done just that — and much more.
He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for doing this highest ever tightrope act, walking across and then back – without a parachute or safety harness. And he has done it not once but several times, even blindfolded.
And, this is just one of the many Guinness World Records he has achieved through his hobby as a hot air balloonist.
Howard's wife Renee is also a balloon pilot and their four-year-old daughter Cydnee has been flying with them since she was born. We spoke to him about his hobby and what drives him to perform these daring feats.
What do you enjoy most about hot air ballooning?
I enjoy every facet of ballooning. Earlier, while piloting commercial flights, I loved to see the joy on the faces of passengers taking their first hot air balloon flight.
I also enjoy flying in different countries during balloon festivals and competitions. I am a qualified instructor and find it satisfying to teach others to fly. But what I love most is the challenge of hot air ballooning competitions.
What makes a good balloonist?
Good ballooning is about putting safety first. A balloonist should know his equipment well, be able to predict the weather in terms of localised microclimates and know when
to land.
But the most important factor is to have a good crew, because they do all the hard work from blowing up the balloon to tracking your landing point and packing the
balloon after the flight. The crew makes the difference between a good and a bad flight.
Is it not a distraction to have a four-year-old in the basket during competitions?
Yes it is. Cydnee flew with me at the German Championship last month and constantly distracted me by pointing out windmills, reindeers and other interesting sights. But I
like to take her along because even though I take the competitions seriously, the primary reason for being there is to have fun as a family.
So we keep her involved in the whole process and during the flight we strap her securely on her seat atop a gas cylinder. We are also the only team to have teenagers as our crewmembers during competitions.
What is your most memorable ballooning moment?
There are many including the tightrope walk, the midair trapeze and a helium balloon flight I did last year for Greenpeace over some of the worst mining areas in Germany. But if I have to pick one it would be our wedding day.
I met my wife Renee through ballooning and we got married at a balloon event in Austria in the presence of balloonists from around the world.
What drives you to take on these dangerous record-breaking challenges?
I have always had a sense of adventure and love to challenge myself by doing something that has not been done before. I enjoy thinking up new stunts and it all began when a television company was interested in filming one of them.
That one involved dropping two parachutists from 10,000 feet and then lowering the balloon to let them land back in the basket. After that successful challenge other television companies contacted me to participate in programmes featuring record breakers.
Some of the events were done for corporate promotions. I also do events to draw attention to important issues. Last year I did two helium flights for Greenpeace.
One was over a factory that has the worst carbon dioxide emissions in Europe and the other was over a German autobahn to promote reduction of speeds to reduce polluting emissions. They may look dangerous, but I have a team that I trust and we always make sure that it is safe.
How do you prepare for stunts like the tightrope walk at 20,000 feet?
It is all in the mind. You have to convince yourself that walking on that beam at 20,000 feet is the same as walking on it when placed on the ground. I am good at blanking out the surroundings and focussing on what is essential. The preparation is mainly in the planning.
I do not take any unnecessary risks and take all the necessary safety precautions. I am lucky to have the support of balloonists like my father, my wife and my best friend Steve Davis, whom I can trust completely.
What are you planning next?
I would like to do a helium cluster balloon flight across the English Channel.
Do you plan to do such an event in Dubai?
I do not like to repeat my stunts. But I have a lot of good ideas and would love to do an event here if the reason was right. Ballooning challenges are an unusual promotional tool with high visibility and I see plenty of opportunity for such events in Dubai.
How do you see the future of ballooning in the UAE?
Star Events have made a good start by organising the first Dubai Balloon Festival last year and are planning another one soon to promote ballooning in the region. They also
own and operate several corporate balloons and have taken these to major balloon festivals around the world. I expect many more companies to use balloons for promotion.
And there is already a company in Dubai doing passenger flights. But I would like to see more private individuals take it up as a hobby and will be happy to be involved in training them.
I hope we can find a patron to support the setting up of the UAE Balloon Club, which will make it easier for more people to get training and licences. The weather here is good for flying and our aim should be to host an international competition here soon and maybe someday bid to hold the world championship here.
Did you know?
Mike Howard's records include doing a trapeze act on a hot air balloon at 20,000 feet and climbing up to the top of the balloon and abseiling back into the basket during
mid-flight in less than three minutes.
He also holds the record for the highest ever cluster flight, where he relied on a cluster of ordinary toy helium balloons tied to a chair to hoist him up to 18,000ft and landed by bursting the balloons with a shotgun.
Ballooning in Dubai
The first Dubai Balloon Festival was held during DSF 2007 under the patronage of Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The 10-day event was organised
by Star Events and 71 balloonists from around the world participated, making 545 flights over the Global Village and in the desert.
How to get a licence
To get a balloon pilot's licence one must pass five exams on meteorology, air law, balloon systems, navigation and human performance and log 16 hours of flying with a qualified instructor.
