The Great Flight
Added on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
The Great Flight
Just got in from a great flight with Mike Green. Mike who flies for Kapadokya Balloons, owned and run by Lars and Kylie, is the first aeronaut ever to fly over the North Pole. In 1997 he flew a 21 000 cubic foot ‘cloud-hopper’ for 20 minutes at 1000 ft in temperatures of minus 45 degrees centigrade. Ivan Trifonov set up a Balloon Meet at the pole and Mike and his partner, Ali Yates flew to the Moscow and then to the Arctic.
He is known internationally as one of the safest pair of hands and has worked for international flyer Per Lindstrand. Born into a ballooning family – his parents ran a gas business for balloonists – when inevitably, Mike graduated into flying and then moved to Turkey to continue his career in Capaddocia.
As an ex-balloonist it was a busman’s holiday to go up, but to fly over Capaddocia was special. There are nine companies flying in the area but 18 years ago, Lars and Kylie pioneered flying here and have the best reputation. Looking down over the sedimentary rock formations, and so silently, it made me feel contemplative. I would love to have stayed for longer but the need to get to the Sudan ferry for Monday was uppermost in my mind. After two hours sleep I flew and now, having landed and filed this blog, need to get on the road and cross into Syria.
