A Hot-Air Balloon overflight of the Black Sea is an outstanding event in world aviation history! It is also a unique adventure in the world history of extreme sports! No one in the world has yet to fly over the Black Sea! Time of the event – February 2011

Idea and previous organization by:
The First Aeronautic Club (Georgia)
Kyiv Ballooning Society (Ukraine)
Kubicek Hot-Air Balloons & Airships (Czech Republic)

Co-organizers and participants:
"Russian Records Factory" (Russian Federation)
Avgur Aeronautic Centre (Russian Federation)
Ballooning Centre (Lithuania)
The Black Sea Contest Club (Ukraine)
SKYWAY BALLOONS (Turkey)

The hot air balloon will fly from Ukraine to Turkey. It will take off in the south of the Crimean Peninsula and land near the city of Ankara.
The length of the flight is around 450 km.
Altitude – from 100 to 3,500 m above sea level.
Time of flight over the open sea – up to 18 hours.
Aircraft – AX14 hot air balloon with an envelope volume of 14 200 m³.

The project is also unique in terms of flight conditions. There is no direct air current capable of carrying a hot air balloon from one shore of the Black Sea to another. Special synoptic conditions are required for the flight: the simultaneous appearance of two cyclones moving from north to south. Only in the corridor between these two air movements, “dovetailed” by pressure from two sides, will the balloon be able, by changing altitude in search of the maximum speed, to reach the designated landing site.

This undertaking requires top professionalism from all the participants, so the best aviation specialists and hydro physicists from Europe, each of whom is an outstanding individual, have joined forces to bring this project to fruition.

The flight control center is located in the Crimea. It boasts experienced aviators, meteorologists, navigators, and operators. Their task is to draw up a weather report along the route, calculate the flight path, and send this information to those on board the hot air balloon; if necessary, they will also supervise sea rescue maneuvers.

The government’s assistance is required for successful performance of the flight. The civil aviation administration of Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey, as well as air control services are participating in the project and rendering the organizers every possible assistance.

The task of the organizers is to establish the world sporting achievement and at the same time set a positive and vibrant example of cooperation among Black Sea countries both in the sky and on the ground for their own people and the world community as a whole.