Two Record-Breakers... And The One left Behind

Bertrand Piccard

In becoming the first man to circumnavigate the world in a hot-air balloon, the 41-year-old Swiss psychiatrist has added another world first to a family of record-setters. His grandfather, Auguste Piccard, and his partner were the first to take a hot-air balloon into the stratosphere, rising to almost 10 miles in 1931. Auguste's twin brother, Jean-Felix, went to 11 miles three years later. In 1960 Bertrand's father, Jacques, took a submarine to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific, at nearly seven miles the deepest point on the earth's surface.

Brian Jones

He will go down in pioneering history, but had it not been for a reported personality clash between his co-pilot and Tony Brown - the man initially selected for the flight - the honour would have eluded him. Until December, the 51-year-old grandfather from Erlestoke, Wiltshire, had been designated as back-up pilot for the project and was second-in-command to the mission chief, Alan Noble.

After learning to fly at the age of 16, Jones spent 13 years with the RAF.

He developed a passion for ballooning in 1986, acquiring his licence and becoming an instructor in 1989.

Tony Brown

Tony Brown might have been looking forward to becoming a millionaire today had he not decided the price - three weeks in a tiny capsule with pilot - was too high. At a team meeting in December a decision was made to end the pilots' partnership and Mr Brown left, waving goodbye in turned out to a fortune in book and advertising deals.The Concorde technician, from Guildford in Surrey, has no regrets. He is reported to have had difficulties with Piccard's obsession with flying around the world, a difference in attitude thatdrove a wedge between them.