On 19 September the stele to the Baikal aeronauts was inaugurated in the Irkutsk region, on the Small Sea coast. The Fund for Protection of Lake Baikal has become an initiator and organizer of the stele installation. It was dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the flight across the anomalous zone of Lake Baikal on a heat air balloon “Holy Russia” by a crew of Valentine Efremov and Vladimir Issaychev.
Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Irkutsk Region Vladimir Pashkov, director of the FPLB Boris Danilov, the administration of the Olkhon district of the Irkutsk region and the balloonists themselves took part in the ceremony opening.
The speakers pointed out that the record flight of “Holy Russia” has become a kind of bridge linking the two sides of the Sacred Lake - Irkutsk and Buryat. Valentine Efremov and Vladimir Issaychev expressed particular gratitude to the Fund for Protection of Lake Baikal and personally to Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the FPLB Mikhail Slipenchuk.
Note
On 10 September, 2007 Valentine Efremov and Vladimir Issaychev flew across Lake Baikal by a heat air balloons “Holy Russia” and established an achievement entered in the Guinness Book of Records, flying for six hours about 100 km from one coast to the other. Most of the trip took place just above the area of the lake, called the “Bermuda Triangle” of Baikal.
The place to start was selected Zama village in the northern part of the island of Olkhon. As it was decided by the travelers, the balloon “Holy Russia” was going towards the village of Ust-Barguzin and Gremyachinsk. The flight took place in difficult conditions. Although the weather during the expedition was excellent aeronauts constantly had to change altitude. Unpredictable winds prevented from flying at the same height. Navigation and on-board instruments refused to work. Showing skill and bravery, the pilots made a successful, albeit hard landing.
Valentine Efremov and Vladimir Issaychev proved by their flight that the intersection of Lake Baikal by a balloon in the anomalous zone of increased radiation and numerous local wind is possible.
