The Flight of NightStar I

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Bill Cloninger sets a new AX5 Duration of Flight World Record of 12 hours 21 minutes and 36 seconds.

[Link to NightStar I Narrative]

[Link to NightStar I Photo Gallery]

On Friday night, February 9, 2001 at approximately 8:20 pm the flight of NightStar I launched from Lincoln County Airport in Tea, South Dakota. With surface temperatures at
-10 ºF, this world record flight started heading to the southeast toward the northwestern corner of Iowa under a full moon. After approximately 7 hours of flight, the balloon turned toward the west and Sioux City, Iowa. An hour later, we turned back to the northwest and back toward Sioux Falls. The landing was near Irene, SD approximately 25 miles from the launch site. The flight track of the entire flight is depicted on the following map.