February 18, 2006 5:30 p.m. CST - Rich has safely landed at 4:42 p.m. after a flight time of 13 hours 13 minutes 2 seconds.  He landed near Clearmont, Mo, coordinates N 40° 26.763 W 94° 57.809.  He had many thermals to contend with today but the whole flight couldn't have gone much better.

We want to thank so many people for all their help and support over the past two years.  There are so many that helped make this possible, that I am reluctant to list them for fear of leaving someone out.  Thanks goes to so many pilots, crew, friends, and family and just interested parties from all ends of the world, some of whom have already offered their congratulations via email or phone calls.

I think Bruce Comstock said it all when he said, "I'm sure a lot of other people are watching the web site for updates, especially now near the end of this exciting multiple world record flight."

Thank all of you so much for bearing with me during all these updates. My special thanks goes to Tom Peterson, President of the Nebraska Balloon Club, for coping with me thru all of this and many "panic" calls.  He has been with me since 3:00 a.m. this morning, and I'm sure I have tested his patience more then once.  Thanks to all of you for tuning into the web site.  I am sure more will be added when I have some quotes from Rich to put here.

Joanne Ragle
Adventure of the Heart
Command Center Coordinator

February 18, 2006 4:42 p.m. CST - RICH HAS LANDED

Rich landed safely this afternoon after completing a flight of 13 hours, 13 minutes, 2 seconds.  Coordinates of the landing are N 40° 26.763 W 94° 57.809.

February 18, 2006 4:25 p.m. CST - Rich has now broken another record!!!

Cheers are going up once again from the chase vehicles and at the command center.  Rich has surpassed the previous set record for an AX-5 category.  The previous record was set by Bill Cloninger on February 10, 2001, with a time of 12:21:36.  Rich has now been in the air for 12 hours and 56 minutes.

Rich is trying to land but is encountering thermals that are pushing him back up.  His altitude is 1400 feet, with a heading of 177° at 5.9 mph.  He is at N 40° 29.952 W 94° 59.706 near the town of Clearmont, Missouri.

WAY TO GO RICH!!!

February 18, 2006 3:30 PM 2/18/2006 CST - Rich is over the great state of Missouri, flying at an altitude of 1423 feet, heading 162° at 8.1 mph. His exact location is N 40° 32.586 W 95° 1.260.

February 18, 2006 3:00 PM 2/18/2006 CST - The good times continue as Rich is flying at an altitude of 1848 heading 133° at 5.8 mph.  The exact location is N 40° 35.391 W 95° 2.086.  At this point, Rich's only concern is the lifetime of his instrument panel battery.

February 18, 2006 2:30 PM 2/18/2006 CST - Rich is at an altitude of 2,461 feet heading 131° at 6.9 mph.  His location is N 40° 37.741 and W 95° 5.196 near the town of Braddyville, Iowa, near the Iowa-Missouri border.  He has now been in the air over 11 hours.

February 18, 2006 1:08 PM CST - Here are two more sets of numbers.

At 2:00 PM CST, Rich reported in at an altitude of 1555 feet, heading 141° at 8.2 mph.  Location was N40° 40.203 W95° 8.001.  Chase crew reports no snow cover in southern Iowa.

At 1:30 PM CST, Rich was at 2260 feet, heading 177° at 4.3 mph.  Location was N40° 42.240 W95° 10.122.

February 18, 2006 12:35 PM CST - Rich has now broken the record!!!

Cheers are going up from the chase vehicles and at the command center.  Rich surpassed the previous AX-4 duration record of 8 hours 45 minutes.  He has now been in the air for 9 hours and is not ready to quit yet!  He does report he is bouncing up and down in thermals.  Great timing, the bouncing coincides with breaking the record.  Orv Olivier has called the NAA to report Rich's success.

Rich is now at an altitude of 3785 feet with a heading of 75° at 5 mph.  His exact location is N 40° 46.585 W 95° 14.526.

CONGRATULATIONS DR. RICH JAWORSKI!!!

February 18, 2006 12:14 p.m. CST - We have 2 sets of numbers to give you at this time.  At 11:35a.m. Rich had an altitude of 1805 feet with the envelope temperature at 93° heading 160° at 9.6 mph.  His position at that time was N40° 50.102 W 95° 20.782.

At 12:00 Rich was about one and a half miles south of Essex, Ia with an altitude of 1443 heading of 147° at 5.5mph.  His position is at N 40° 48.329 W 95° 18.192.

February 18, 2006 11:27 AM CST - Rich is now flying near Essex, Iowa.  He's gained altitude to 1632' MSL, where the track is 125° at 7.5 mph.  Envelope temperature is 134°F.  Position at 11:08 was N 40° 51.575 W 95° 22.717.

Reported weather conditions in nearby Shenandoah are temperature 10°F (up from -8 at launch; break out the tanning cream!), winds west at 6 mph, sky clear. 

February 18, 2006 10:36 AM CST - Now into the seventh hour, Rich has had a little trouble with the autopilot, but is continuing to work with it.  At last report, altitude was 1558' MSL and envelope temperature 141°, owing to the altitude fluctuations.  Heading was 132° at 10.5 mph, position N 40° 54.120 W95° 26.684.

February 18, 2006 10:04 AM CST - As we pass the 6 hour, 30 minute mark, Rich is at 1218' MSL, heading 132° at 6.3 mph, position N 40° 55.600 W 95° 29.622.  The envelope temperature is 127° and cloud cover reported as 30%.

February 18, 2006 9:35 AM CST - Rich is now near Randolph, IA on a heading of 99° at 6.6 mph. Current position is N 40° 57.000 W 95° 32.793 and altitude is 1293' MSL.  Envelope temperature is 129°.

February 18, 2006 9:02 AM CST - Rich's track has turned slightly south, and he's now heading 102° at 6.4 mph at an altitude of 1290' MSL.  Current position is N 40° 58.123 W 95° 36.951.  Envelope temperature is 131° and ambient reading 16.1°

February 18, 2006 8:31 AM CST - Rich is headed toward Malvern, IA, and says things are going fine.  His current position is N 40° 59.733 W 95° 40.561;, heading 92° at 7.1 mph, altitude 1329' MSL.  Envelope temperature 123° and ambient temperature 20.6° (the ambient probe is too near some warm instrument to give a true ambient reading - Tom).

February 18, 2006 8:02 AM CST - Rich is turning into the morning sun. Now about 5 miles south of Glenwood, IA, over the loess hills and under broken clouds, Rich reports he is at 1066 feet MSL, tracking 78° at 7.4 mph, with an envelope temperature of 125°. Location was N 40° 58.517 W 95° 44.804;.

February 18, 2006 7:36 AM CST - Latest position report N 40° 57.669 W 95° 47.363; speed was 6.4 mph, bearing 91°, altitude 1064 feet MSL, envelope temperature is 131°.

Rich has crossed over the Missouri and is now in Iowa crossing I-29 south of Glenwood.

February 18, 2006 7:00 AM CST - Channel 7 news just broadcast film of Rich's launch, and is reporting the flight's progress as we update this website!

Rich's latest report was 1304 feet MSL, heading 117° at 7.4 mph.  His location was N 40° 58.027 W 95° 51.381; this puts him east of Plattsmouth airport nearing the Missouri River.

February 18, 2006 6:30 AM CST - At last report, Rich was N 40° 59.631 W 95° 54.432; speed was 8.3 mph, bearing 151°. Rich reports the envelope temperature is 156°.

February 18, 2006 6:00 AM CST - Meteorologist Lou's latest analysis estimates Rich's flight path will take him to Manhattan, KS.  Rich's last report was N 41° 02.571 W 95° 57.193; speed was 9.1 mph, bearing 145°, altitude 1370 feet MSL.  Rich reports he is "warm and doing fine."

February 18, 2006 5:30 AM CST - Rich's latest postion report was N 41° 06.694 W 95° 59.463; speed was 12.7 mph, bearing 163°, altitude 2459 feet MSL

February 18, 2006 5:14 AM CST - We are approximately at 132nd and Maple Streets watching Rich fly over Omaha from my living room.  He looks like a star and as he gets further away, we can only see him when he burns.  He dropped about 1200 feet as he was going over Omaha.  He is over the Ralston area at an altitude of 2466 feet (MSL) with a heading of 164° at 13.5 mph.  The crew reports that there are about 7 or 8 crew people in 2 chase vehicles and maybe another non-official vehicle or 2 also chasing.  For the more technically inclined, longitude is N 41° 12.338 and W 96° 01.773.

February 18, 2006 4:45 AM CST The command center spotted Rich a couple of minutes ago! Looking out our window toward the southeast, we estimate him near 72nd and Pacific.  The flickering glow of Rich's burner makes him the brightest star in the morning sky, even from our distant vantage point.

February 18, 2006 4:30 AM CST Rich's last reported position at 41°18.450N, 96°03.491W puts him near Highway 133 & Interstate 680.  Rich's speed is 20.5 kts, heading 173°, altitude 3695' MSL.  Rich says he is warm - he's out of the sleeping bag, flying sideways and occasionally backwards. According to Jill, Rich is "disappointed Burger King is not open yet."

February 18, 2006 4:20 AM CST Rich's last reported position at 41.36N, 96.05W put him over Cunningham Lake at Highway 36.  Rich reports "conditions good, speed between 13-14 kts, heading 163°, altitude 3200' MSL."

February 18, 2006 3:30 AM CST - Rich Jaworski lifted off from Blair, Nebraska at 3:29 AM on Saturday, February 18, 2006. Weather conditions at launch were -8° F with light northwest winds. Rich is currently headed southeast toward Omaha. Forecast conditions for the flight are ideal, with light winds and cold temperatures. Rich radioed the crew "All OK."

Reporters from several local media outlets were on hand for the launch, including Channel 7 and the Blair, Omaha, and Council Bluffs newspapers. We're hoping for coverage on this mornings' news programs.

We're currently experiencing some problems with the flight tracker, but will continue posting reports here from the chase crew as they phone in to the command center...

February 18, 2006 3:15 AM CST - We are at LEVEL 7.  The Adventure Continues!  Rich and crew are preparing for launch.  Temperature in Blair is -4 F, winds west at 2 mph.  The balloon is inflated and final prepararations are being made.  Brook reports that the Rich is still on the ground and the envelope is being kept warm on the flight burner.

February 17, 2006 7:15 p.m.CST - Rich and crew are about 40 miles away from Sioux City, Ia on their way to Blair, Ne. The plan to take off at St Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Blair at 3:00 a.m. is still in place.

An update as to the landing site.  It looks like now that he will be somewhere in the Concordia, Ks vicinity upon landing tomorrow evening, roughly a trip of 115 miles.  If you want to join up with the chase crew at a later time into the flight, follow the tracker to see the location of the chase crew.  Tom and I will be following along with both the computer tracking and by phone.  If you want to try to play catch up with them further south or later in the day, feel free to call my (Joanne's) house.

February 17, 2006 12:15 p.m.CST - The Adventure of the Heart crew is planning on arriving in Blair, Ne at approximately 9:30 p.m. CST this evening.  They will go to the old Fire Station on 16th and Lincoln Streets to unload and reorganize their gear from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.  After a power nap they will be arriving at the St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church ( 2002 Davis Dr.) in Blair at 2:00 a.m. CST.  Launch time is expected to be 3:00 a.m.CST.  Rich is expecting to land in northern Missouri sometime around sunset Saturday evening after a 14 to 15 hour flight.

All interested parties are invited to join us and should be at the Church by 2:30 a.m.!!!

February 17, 2006 10:00 a.m.CST - The weather didn't cooperate with us for a flight from North Dakota.  Adventure of the Heart crew is returning to Blair, Ne.  It appears that the weather may be better for a flight from Blair and is planned for 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  Local crew is needed!  Please call me (Joanne) if you are able to help us with this adventure.

February 16, 2006 4:30 p.m.CST - At this time, Adventure of the Heart crew is in Bismarck, N.D. making final preparations for the flight.  Due to a change in wind direction and velocity, plans of flying from Minot, N.D. were changed to Bismarck, N.D.  Rich is planning on launching from Bismarck at 3:00 a.m.CST Friday.  "It will be a challenge to launch as the winds are forecast to be about 8 to 12 knots", Rich said.  After a flight of approximately 12 to 15 hours he is planning on landing in the Watertown, S.D. vicinity.

February 15, 2006 1:00 p.m. - LEVEL 6 has now been reached.  The crew for Adventure of the Heart is on their way.  Anticipation and excitement seems to be the rule of the day as they make their way up to Fargo, ND.

February 15, 2006 10:30 a.m. - We have progressed to LEVEL 5.  The crew will be leaving Blair, Ne at 12:30 p.m. today (February 15, 2006) headed for Minot, N.D.  The crew includes Pat Ragle, Jane Jaworski, Matt Grote, Orv Olivier and Duane Waach.  When they arrive at Minot, they can expect a real temperature of about -30 F, combined with 7 knot winds from the north to give a windchill of -50 F. Snow is not expected, though they will be traveling through it at some given point.