first man to make solo balloon crossing of atlantic
Joseph Kittinger


Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and a USAF Command Pilot. His initial operational assignment was in fighter aircraft, then he participated in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior high altitude balloon flight projects from 1956 to 1960, setting a world record for the highest skydive from a height greater than . He was also the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon, and the first man to fully witness the curvature of the
5378778
Balloon (aeronautics)


and amount of time aloft in his attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean —solo— by balloon (3.938 km, 107:37 h). The current absolute altitude record for manned balloon flight was set at 34,668 m (113,739 ft) on 4 May 1961 by Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather in the Strato-Lab V balloon payload launched from the deck of the USS "Antietam" in the Gulf of Mexico. The previous record altitude for a manned balloon was set at 38,960.5 m (127,823 ft) by Felix Baumgartner in the
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Larry Newman (aviator)


Larry Newman (September 28, 1947 – December 20, 2010) was an American pilot and balloonist. Newman won the Congressional Gold Medal awarded by the United States Congress for his flight in the "Double Eagle II" with Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson. The flight was the first manned balloon crossing of the Atlantic non-stop. In 1981, Newman flew the "Double Eagle V" in the first-ever manned balloon crossing over the Pacific with Ben Abruzzo, Ron Clark and Rocky Aoki. Newman helped popularize hang
8021301
Atlantic Balloon Crossing


Atlantic Balloon Crossing is a video game written by Dean Powell for the TRS-80 and published by The Software Exchange in 1979. It was originally printed as a type-in BASIC listing in the June 1979 issue of "SoftSide" magazine. "Atlantic Balloon Crossing" is a game that places the player in control of a gas balloon in an effort to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Canada to Paris in the shortest possible time. Joseph Suchar reviewed "Atlantic Balloon Crossing" in "The Space Gamer" No. 37. Suchar
10130060
Free Life (balloon)


balloon crossing attempts were made: In February 1974, while making one such attempt, Colonel Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr. USAR also disappeared in his "Light Heart" superpressure balloon. Finally, on August 17, 1978, three Americans - Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman crossed the Atlantic by balloon, in the "Double Eagle II". In October 1972 Pamela Brown was memorialized by the opening of the Pamela Brown Auditorium, the first and largest theater in the newly built Actor's Theatre of Louisville complex.
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History of ballooning


strive to set records, especially for long distances, and to achieve "first" marks (such as Double Eagle II (first to cross the Atlantic Ocean) and Breitling Orbiter 3 (first to circumnavigate the world). Although manned high-altitude balloon ascensions are still undertaken, they are more likely to be the work of adventurers than researchers. Modern hot air balloons, with a more sophisticated onboard heat source than the Montgolfier brothers' basket of hot coals, were pioneered beginning in the 1950s by Ed Yost, who
19712795
Caribou, Maine


February 23, but the area's boom period leveled off in the 1970s as a result of difficulties in its traditional potato industry. That, along with closure of the base in 1994, contributed to a decline in population in the 1980s and 1990s. In September 1984, Caribou was the lift-off location of the first successful solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by Colonel Joseph Kittinger. This flight is memorialized at the Rosie O'Grady Balloon of Peace Park one mile (1.6 km) south of the city on Main Street
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Ben Abruzzo


Eagle I". The balloon was named in honor of Charles Lindbergh, who in 1927 was the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a small single engined aircraft alone. The flight of the "Double Eagle I" occurred fifty years after Lindbergh's feat, and was the eleventh recorded attempt to make the crossing, which had been an open challenge in ballooning for more than a century. The balloon launched from Marshfield, Massachusetts on September 9. After being blown off course by stormy weather, the team was forced
20747452
Superpressure balloon


such balloons were used for aerobots flying at an altitude of approximately 50 km in the atmosphere of Venus, in the international, Soviet-led Vega program. In February 1974, Colonel Thomas L. Gatch Jr, USAR attempted to make the first crossing of the Atlantic by balloon in a superpressure balloon named "Light Heart". Following the loss of at least two of the ten balloons which provided lift, and after deviating substantially from the course that Colonel Gatch had plotted to take advantage of the jet stream, the last reported
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Rozière balloon


made 31 August to 2 September 1986, Newfoundland to the Netherlands, by Brink, Brink and Hageman in the balloon "Dutch Viking". During February 1992, the first east-to-west Atlantic crossing was achieved by Feliu and Green. Four Cameron-R77s made Atlantic crossings, west to east, during September 1992. One was co-piloted by Bertrand Piccard. Australian adventurer Dick Smith and his co-pilot John Wallington made the first balloon voyage across Australia, in another Cameron-R77 Rozière, "Australian
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Double Eagle (balloon)


Double Eagle was a helium balloon piloted by Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson in a failed attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1977. It was the eleventh recorded attempt to make the crossing, which had been an open challenge in ballooning for more than a century. The balloon launched from Marshfield, Massachusetts on September 9. After being blown off course by stormy weather, the team was forced to ditch three miles off the coast of Iceland on September 12, 65½ hours after taking off. Abruzzo and Anderson, along with Larry
10432125
The Balloon-Hoax


"). The first human-carrying lighter-than-air craft of any type to cross the Atlantic was in 1919. The British dirigible R-34, a direct copy of the German L-33 which crashed in Britain during World War I. The 3559.5 mile flight from Britain to New York City took 108 hours 12 minutes. The first human-carrying unpowered balloon to actually cross the Atlantic Ocean was "Double Eagle II" from August 11 to 17, 1978. The Pacific was crossed in three days by unmanned Japanese "fire
12113154
Balloonomania


human longing and inspiration, both uplifting and terrifying” and William Wordsworth, who opened the poem “Peter Bell” with the image of a balloon boat: Their point was not lost on the balloonists themselves, as Dr. Alexandre Charles found himself making the first solo voyage in a hot air balloon on December 1, 1783, an unplanned accident after Dr. Charles' companion stepped out of the balloon, which then relaunched itself with only Charles inside. He wrote, "Never has a man felt so solitary, so sublime-
8362323
History of ballooning


. Duration and distance of this solo balloon flight was 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes (14 days 19 hours 50 minutes to landing), 20,626.48 statute miles (33,195.10 km). The trip set a number of records for ballooning: Fastest (, breaking his own previous record of ), Fastest Around the World (13.5 days), Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon (), and 24-Hour Balloon Distance ( on July 1). The first manned balloon flight in Britain was by James Tytler on August
19712783
Ed Yost


“Channel Champ.” In 1976, Yost set 13 aviation world’s records for distance traveled and amount of time aloft in his attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean —solo— by balloon. He designed and built his balloon, the “Silver Fox," himself, partly in his home garage. It featured a gondola that was shaped like a boat in the event that he would be forced down at sea — which is precisely what occurred. Although he had traveled far in excess of the distance needed to reach Europe
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Double Eagle II


), carrying Malcolm Brighton, Rodney Anderson, and Pamela Brown, vanished September 1970 in mid-Atlantic while attempting to fly from East Hampton, New York to Europe. The superpressure balloon "Light Heart" (attempt #6), carrying Colonel Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr. USAR, disappeared February 1974 after being sighted over the Atlantic while attempting the cross from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. "The Spirit of Man" (attempt #7) in 1974 suffered a balloon burst over the New Jersey coast, killing the rider.
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Rozière balloon


Rozière balloons and their crew to achieve very long flight times, as much as several days or even weeks. The first Rozière was built for an attempt at crossing the English Channel on 15 June 1785. Contemporary accounts state that the balloon caught fire, suddenly deflated and crashed near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais, killing Rozier, who was riding the balloon. Today’s Rozière designs use non-flammable helium rather than hydrogen. Their primary application is for extremely long duration flights. The first successful Atlantic crossing was
9372513
Ocean rowing


hours. Charles Hedrich is also the first man to complete a double Atlantic crossing nonstop, rowing solo and unassisted. Leaving from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, his path took him eastward across the North Atlantic to the Canary islands, and then westward back to Martinique. The expedition lasted 145 days and 22 hours, ending on 1 December 2012. "La Mondiale" set the original record for the fastest ocean rowboat to cross the mid-Atlantic from east-to-west in 1992 at 35 days, 8
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Light Heart (balloon)


Light Heart was a balloon constructed by Colonel Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr., USAR (born 13 September 1925 — disappeared 19 February 1974) for an unsuccessful attempt at the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by balloon. Gatch was the son of Vice Admiral Thomas Leigh Gatch (1891-1954). The balloon consisted of a sealed and pressurized envelope suspended from a cluster of ten helium balloons. Each of these was a superpressure balloon (also known as a constant pressure or positive pressure balloon.) In theory, such a
20838525
Balloonomania


frightened peasants on landing.” Regardless of these negative reactions, which were not in the majority, ballooning quickly caught the imagination of the general populace, with a crowd of up to 400,000 clamoring to see Jacques Charles make a manned ascent in Paris on December 1, 1783. Both Blanchard and Lunardi became famous for their ballooning stunts, with Blanchard and his companion Dr. John Jeffries being the first to cross the English channel in a balloon on January 7, 1785. The public reaction among intellectuals and academics was generally cooler,
8362316
Transatlantic flight


about of those facilities. In the late 1950s and early 1960s an important facility for low-flying aircraft was the Radio Range. Inertial navigation systems became prominent in the 1970s. The twenty busiest commercial routes between North America and Europe (traffic traveling in both directions) in 2010 were: In September 2013, Jonathan Trappe lifted off from Caribou, Maine, United States in an attempt to make the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by cluster balloon. The craft is essentially a small yellow lifeboat attached to 370 balloons filled with
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Gérard d'Aboville


Gérard d'Aboville (born 5 September 1945 in Paris) is the first man to row across two oceans solo: the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. He crossed the Atlantic in 1980, travelling from Cape Cod to Brittany. D'Aboville previously built boats and organized races before undertaking this 3,500 mile trip, which he completed in 72 days. In 1991, at the age of 46 he spent 134 days crossing the Pacific Ocean, beginning in Japan and ending in Washington state. For this crossing, d'Aboville's twenty-six foot
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Ben Abruzzo


in 1954. Abruzzo took an interest in hot air ballooning in the early 1970s. Through the efforts of Abruzzo and other Albuquerque balloon pilots the first Albuquerque balloon fiesta was held in 1972, with just thirteen balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is now the largest event of its kind in the world, with over 600 balloons participating each October. In 1977 Abruzzo and fellow balloonist Maxie Anderson decided to attempt a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a helium filled gas balloon named the "Double
20747451
History of aviation


). Five years later Charles Lindbergh took the Orteig Prize of $25,000 for the first "solo" non-stop crossing of the Atlantic. Months after Lindbergh, Paul Redfern was the first to solo the Caribbean Sea and was last seen flying over Venezuela. Australian Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was the first to fly across the larger Pacific Ocean in the Southern Cross. His crew left Oakland, California to make the first trans-Pacific flight to Australia in three stages. The first (from Oakland to Hawaii) was 2,400
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Richard Branson


media coverage. Some newspapers called for Branson to reimburse the government for the rescue cost. In 1986, in his "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II", with sailing expert Daniel McCarthy, he beat the record by two hours. A year later his hot air balloon "Virgin Atlantic Flyer" crossed the Atlantic. In January 1991, Branson crossed the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada, , in a balloon of . This broke the record, with a speed of . Between 1995 and 1998, Branson, Per Lindstrand, Vladimir
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Don Cameron (balloonist)


"Golden Eagle", a balloon designed specifically to fly across the Sahara to shoot a film for Jack Le Vien. In 1978 his attempt to make the premier Atlantic crossing by balloon ended when bad weather forced his heated helium balloon "Zanussi" down after a 2,000 mile flight from Canada. It was piloted by Cameron and Christopher Davey. They left St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on 26 July 1978, covered 1,780 miles, and ditched on 30 July 1978 in the Bay of Biscay only 110 miles from France after
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Transatlantic flight


as the Jet Stream. In 1859, John Wise built an enormous aerostat named the "Atlantic", intending to cross the Atlantic. The flight lasted less than a day, crash-landing in Henderson, New York. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe prepared a massive balloon of called the "City of New York" to take off from Philadelphia in 1860, but was interrupted by the onset of the American Civil War in 1861. (The first successful transatlantic flight in a balloon was the Double Eagle II from Presque Isle,
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Edward Allcard


in 81 days, aboard his 35-foot wooden ketch "Temptress" (previously sailed by Ocean Cruising Club founder Humphrey Barton). Upon completion of his return voyage in 1951, Allcard became the first man in history to sail the Atlantic solo in both directions. During the return crossing, after leaving the Azores, he found a 23-year-old female stowaway aboard his yacht – an event widely reported at the time in the international press. Allcard wrote two books about his single-handed Atlantic crossings: "Single-Handed Passage
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Double Eagle II


Double Eagle II, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, became the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours 6 minutes after leaving Presque Isle, Maine. It can be regarded as a successful crossing at the point that the "Double Eagle II" crossed the Irish coast, on the evening of 16 August, an event that Shannon Airport notified the crew about when it happened. Newman originally intended to hang glide from the balloon to
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Skyhook balloon


in the Atlantic, Pacific, Caribbean, and Arctic waters. Both Winzen Research and General Mills participated in these launchings, and in later years, the Atomic Energy Commission joined ONR in support of Project Skyhook. Among significant flights, Project Skyhook launched the first successful three-balloon cluster in 1948. Then in 1949 the first shipboard Skyhook launch took place. It was followed by nearly 300 shipboard launchings over the next 10 years. The first manned plastic balloon flight under ONR contract took place in 1949. Project Rockoon, in
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Balloon (aeronautics)


aloft for 87 hours. His record lasted until 1976. On 27 May 1931, Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer became the first to reach the stratosphere in a balloon. Ben Abruzzo was the first man to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon. On 31 August 1933, Alexander Dahl took the first picture of the Earth's curvature in an open hydrogen gas balloon. The helium-filled "Explorer II" balloon, piloted by US Army Air Corps officers Capt. Orvil A. Anderson, Maj. William E. Kepner
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Capitoline Grounds


on an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot-air balloon. Sponsored by the "Daily Graphic", the launch was to take place from the Capitoline Grounds, with Wise planning to use a balloon 49 meters (160 feet) tall with a two-compartment enclosed car, but decided to end his involvement with the project. Donaldson persisted, acquiring a smaller balloon with an open boat for the car. Donaldson's Atlantic attempt, launched from the Capitoline Grounds accompanied by reporters Alfred Ford and George Lunt,
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Graham Hurley


the Titanic and the Bismarck (with American oceanographer Robert Ballard) and produced ITV’s account of Richard Branson’s attempt to cross the Atlantic by balloon. Gétévé and France Télévisions started adapting Hurley's Faraday stories in 2011 through 90 minute television films under the title "Deux Flics sur les Docks" (lit. "Two Cops on the Docks"). Jean-Marc Barr and Bruno Solo headline the series, portraying Joe Faraday and Paul Winter respectively. By the end of 2013, six films have been produced and broadcast
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Spirit of Knoxville


home backyard. Post-flight recovery and analysis revealed that newly tested inflation procedures had caused a rip in the top of the balloon. The payload and ballast system were not damaged, however the balloon envelope was damaged beyond repair during landing. "SNOX III" was assembled shortly with a new balloon envelope and the same payload and ballast system from "SNOX II". Launched in January 2008, it was the first official attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The onboard GPS failed shortly after launch, eliminating the ability for
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Balloon (aeronautics)


about 100 houses, making the town home to the world's first aviation disaster. To this day, the town shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. Jean-Pierre Blanchard went on to make the first manned flight of a balloon in America on 9 January 1793, after touring Europe to set the record for the first balloon flight in countries including the Austrian Netherlands, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. His hydrogen filled balloon took off from a prison yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The flight reached 5,800 feet (
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John LaMountain


was successful in making several minor ascensions. Known more for his overbearingly contentious mannerisms, and a propensity to ride the coat tails of more successful balloonists, LaMountain was not considered relevant to the science of ballooning. In 1859 he was invited to join with the more senior and prominent, and just as sanctimonious, balloonist John Wise in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in Wise's mammoth aerostat appropriately named "Atlantic". The ascent was made from St. Louis, Missouri, on July 1, with Wise, LaMountain and
1706599
Women in aviation


in the United States has been stagnant. Women flying commercial airlines in India make up 11.6% of all pilots. The global number of women airline pilots is 3%. The first woman known to fly was Élisabeth Thible, who was a passenger in an untethered hot air balloon, which flew above Lyon, France in 1784. Four years later, Jeanne Labrosse became the first woman to fly solo in a balloon and would become the first woman to parachute, as well. Sophie Blanchard took her first balloon flight in 1804
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Cameron Balloons


, bust of Beethoven, French Chateau, Pagoda and Minaret. The Bedminster factory occupies three floors. Most factory space (first and second floors) is devoted to laying out the hundreds of yards of fabric which is sewn together by machinists. If the detail on the balloon is intricate, to save cost and weight, the designs may be sprayed or painted on instead. The company also makes airships, helium balloons and static inflatables. It has been involved in record breaking balloon flight attempts including trans-Atlantic, altitude and
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History of ballooning


County Offaly, Ireland was seriously damaged when the crash of a balloon resulted in a fire that burned down about 100 houses, making the town home to the world's first aviation disaster. To this day, the town shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. Blanchard went on to make the first manned flight of a balloon in America on January 10, 1793. His hydrogen-filled balloon took off from a prison yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The flight reached 5,800 feet (1,770 m) and landed in Gloucester
19712780
Dick Smith (entrepreneur)


in a newly purchased Bell Jetranger 206B. On 19 August, the 50th anniversary of James Mollison's solo crossing of the Atlantic, Smith completed the first solo Atlantic crossing in a helicopter when he arrived at Balmoral Castle, United Kingdom to be greeted by a waiting Prince Charles. From there he flew to London, where, later that day, the first stage of his flight ended, after 11,752 km. The second stage of his flight started in London on 13 September, and finished in Sydney, Australia, 3 October 1982
18228649
Double Eagle II


. The "Double Eagle II" Airport is named for the balloon. The gondola is displayed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. A monument, containing a model of the balloon, was built to commemorate the "Double Eagle II" and its Atlantic crossing at the field from where the balloon lifted off In January 2015, the crew of the "Two Eagles Balloon" completed
11728194
Ocean rowing


above 100 miles per day (16 days). The Atlantic speed record was the first of four speed records earning Fiann Paul the Guinness World Record of "The first person to hold current speed records on four oceans" in 2017. In 2018, Bryce Carlson of the United States set the record for the fastest solo crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean from St John's, Newfoundland, Canada to St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, England, the first American to complete a North Atlantic crossing, aboard the custom built
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Spirit of Knoxville


The Spirit of Knoxville is a high-altitude balloon project run by amateur scientists and University of Tennessee students, with the ultimate goal of successfully sending an unmanned balloon across the Atlantic Ocean. The project is named for Charles Lindbergh's record-breaking "Spirit of St. Louis" aircraft. As of November 2008, five flights have been made, of which three were intended to cross the Atlantic, a goal which has yet to be achieved. The project began in 2005, under the direction of students from the "University
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Double Eagle II Airport


Double Eagle II Airport is a public airport located seven miles (11 km) northwest of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. It is owned by the City of Albuquerque. Located on the far west side of the city, it is Albuquerque's second airport after Albuquerque International Sunport. Construction began in 1982, and the airport was named for the "Double Eagle II" balloon, the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie
4546515
Aerobot


a Mars aerobot, under the name MABVAP, for "Mars Aerobot Validation Program". MABVAP experiments included drops of balloon systems from hot-air balloons and helicopters to validate the tricky deployment phase of a planetary aerobot mission, and development of envelopes for superpressure balloons with materials and structures suited to a long-duration Mars mission. JPL also provided a set of atmospheric and navigation sensors for the Solo Spirit round-the-world manned balloon flights, both to support the balloon missions and to validate technologies for planetary aerobots.
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Portmarnock


. The needle points to the North Star, an age-old navigation point. The sculpture commemorates the epic flights of the "Southern Cross" (the second non-stop east–west North Atlantic flight, in 1930), the "Heart's Content" (the first east–west non-stop solo North Atlantic flight, 1932) and the abandoned solo North-Atlantic flight of "Faith in Australia" (1933). Like many of Dublin's coastal settlements, Portmarnock is home to a Napoleonic Martello
5215868
Cluster ballooning


Trappe returned to earth, retired the chair, and returned it back to his workplace. On May 28, 2010, Sky News reported on Trappe's crossing of the English Channel by cluster balloon. Trappe departed near Challock, England, crossed over the White Cliffs of Dover at St. Margarets Bay, and made landfall again over Dunkirk, France. Trappe then tracked inland, and landed safely in a farmer's cabbage patch. Three years later, Trappe attempted a trans-Atlantic crossing, but his journey stopped short when he
1445920
C-5 (blimp)


John's, Newfoundland, becoming the first airship to reach that city and in the process sending the first radio voice transmission from Newfoundland. The C-5's goal was to fly across the Atlantic, paralleling the route used by the U.S. seaplane NC-4. Previous attempts to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon were unsuccessful. The most famous of these attempts was that of the dirigible "America" in October 1910. On 14 May 1919, the C-5 departed Montauk Point in clear weather. The ship made good time, but encountered
15081858
Roz Savage


and the danger of having to cut off the rope to her failed sea anchor in waves, she arrived safely at the finish in Antigua. She is only the 5th woman to row solo across the Atlantic from East to West. Savage's book of her Atlantic voyage "Rowing the Atlantic - Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean" was published on 6 October 2009 by Simon & Schuster. Shortly after her successful Atlantic crossing, she announced her bid to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean from the US
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Margaret Graham (balloonist)


Margaret Graham (c. 1804 – c. 1880), formerly Margaret Watson, was the first British woman to make a solo balloon flight, a feat which she accomplished in 1826. She was born in Walcot, Bath, and married the pioneer balloonist George Graham, with whom she first flew on 2 June 1824, when he made an ascent from White Conduit Gardens in Islington, London. They had three daughters, who would later also make balloon flights with her from about 1850 onwards. On 28 June 1826, a flight
17287663
Katie Spotz


to become the youngest person to ever row solo across the Atlantic Ocean and the only American to row solo from Africa to South America. Spotz is also only the second woman to have rowed solo across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland, following the January 2007 crossing by Sophie Macé of France who rowed from Saint Louis, Senegal, to Saint Laurent, French Guyana. Spotz's boat, "Liv", is a 19-foot vessel that was used in a successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 2009. The boat was designed
16215164
Charles Rolls


Mans, lasted four minutes and twenty seconds. He bought one of six Wright Flyer aircraft built by Short Brothers under licence from the Wright Brothers and from early October 1909 made more than 200 flights. Founder in 1901 with Frank Hedges Butler of the ballooning club that became the Royal Aero Club in March 1910 he was the second person they licensed to fly an aeroplane. He became the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane taking 95 minutes on 2 June 1910. For this feat
8741565
David Hempleman-Adams


broke the quarter-century old world small sized hot air balloon altitude record, by ascending to 9,906 meters over Alberta, Canada; beating the previous record of 9,537 metres set by Carol Davis in New Mexico. In July 2007 Hempleman-Adams crossed the Atlantic in the smallest helium balloon to break the record for that particular class of balloon flying this distance. His aim was to land the balloon in Ireland but he was blown over to England by strong winds.See Toshiba Challenge website. In September 2009 he broke the endurance
17941556
Pierre Testu-Brissy


Pierre Testu-Brissy (1770? – 1829) was a pioneering French balloonist who achieved fame for making many flights astride animals, particularly horses. Testu-Brissy made his first balloon ascent in 1785, and the first night ascent on 18 June 1786 in a hydrogen balloon. He made the world's first electrical observations on 18 June 1786 as he ascended into thunderclouds, and said that he drew remarkable discharges from the clouds by means of an iron rod, carried in the car. Testu-Brissy's first solo ascent
12507544
Jet stream


. They labelled the phenomenon the "equatorial smoke stream". In the 1920s, a Japanese meteorologist, Wasaburo Oishi, detected the jet stream from a site near Mount Fuji. He tracked pilot balloons, also known as pibals (balloons used to determine upper level winds), as they rose into the atmosphere. Oishi's work largely went unnoticed outside Japan because it was published in Esperanto. American pilot Wiley Post, the first man to fly around the world solo in 1933, is often given some credit for discovery of
16599703
Balloon Land


Balloon Land, also known as The Pincushion Man, is a 1935 animated short film produced by Ub Iwerks as part of the ComiColor Cartoons series. The cartoon is about a place called Balloon Land, whose residents (including caricatures of popular entertainment figures such as Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin) are made entirely out of balloons. The villain in the cartoon is the Pincushion Man, a character who walks around Balloon Land popping the inhabitants with pins. The cartoon starts with balloon people who make two balloon kids, a boy
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Free Life (balloon)


Brown Jr. At age 28, she and her 32-year-old husband, commodities broker Rod Anderson, hoped to break records with the first manned balloon flight across the Atlantic. The couple planned to recoup the cost of the venture by writing a book about their experience. When the pilot whom they had been counting on for the flight withdrew close to the time of departure, the Andersons hired Englishman Malcolm Brighton, 32, whose ascent in the "Free Lif"e was to be his 100th - and his last. Malcolm Brighton had
3291570
Ocean rowing


hours, and 30 minutes with an eleven-man French crew. After refurbishment, the boat set a faster time of 33 days, 7 hours, and 30 minutes from December 15, 2007 to January 17, 2008 with a fourteen-man British and Irish crew skippered by Leven Brown. On 14 June 2007, Bhavik Gandhi became the first Asian to row the Atlantic solo, nonstop and unsupported from Spain to Antigua. The trip, lasting 106 days, also set the record for the longest solo row across the Atlantic
19197194
West with the Night


the first person to fly the Atlantic east to west in a solo non-stop flight (a westbound flight requires more endurance, fuel, and time than the eastward journey, because the craft must travel against the prevailing Atlantic winds). When Markham decided to take on the Atlantic crossing, no pilot had yet flown non-stop from Europe to New York, and no woman had made the westward flight solo, though several had died trying. Markham hoped to claim both records. On 4 September 1936, she took
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Don Cameron (balloonist)


a tear developed in the balloon. The two planned a second attempt, but discarded their plans when the "Double Eagle II" successfully made a transatlantic flight three weeks later. Cameron and Davey were awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club in the same year. Never averse to technical challenges, Cameron went on to write computer programmes to design specially shaped balloons. Cameron has received the gold, silver and bronze medals of the British Royal Aero Club for his ballooning achievements which include being the first man to cross the
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Joseph Kittinger


crossing of the Atlantic in the 106,000 cubic foot (3,000 m³) "Balloon of Peace", from September 14 to September 18, 1984, organized by the Canadian promoter Gaetan Croteau. As an official FAI world aerospace record, it is the longest gas balloon distance flight ever recorded in the AA-10 size category (5,703.03 km). For the second time in his life, he was also the subject of a story in National Geographic Magazine. Kittinger also participated in the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning in 1989 (ranked third
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Light Heart (balloon)


balloon can retain a constant altitude over very long-distance flights of several days' duration, since the volume of the envelope remains relatively constant over time. Changes in the pressure of the gas due to heating and cooling are accommodated by mitigating the temperature changes and using an inelastic envelope. The sealed and insulated gondola, which Gatch constructed at home, was designed to maintain the same partial pressure of Oxygen as at sea level (40% oxygen at 0.5 atmospheres). Gatch intended to fly the Atlantic (solo) from
20838526
History of ballooning


lift came to be called a "Charlière" in his honour. Charles and Robert carried a barometer and a thermometer to measure the pressure and the temperature of the air, making this not only the first manned hydrogen balloon flight, but also the first balloon flight to provide meteorological measurements of the atmosphere above the Earth's surface. It is reported that 400,000 spectators witnessed the launch, and that hundreds had paid one crown each to help finance the construction and receive access to a "special enclosure" for a "close-
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Transatlantic crossing


Long Island, covering a distance of about in about four and a half days; he then made a return trip to England, thus also completing the first double crossing of the Atlantic (east–west–east). In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight in an airplane (between New York City and Paris). The second solo piloting, and the first to carry a passenger, was Clarence Duncan Chamberlin on June 6, 1927. Edward R. Armstrong proposed a string of anchored
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Kite balloon


inflated kite balloon from the air station dock just prior to leaving port. While the destroyer escorted a convoy, the pilot would board the kite balloon basket each morning just before daylight. The pilot would clip the boarding line to his parachute harness so four seamen could hoist him into the balloon by pulling the opposite end of the line through a pulley on the kite balloon. They tried to make the hoist during a calm period, but it was not unusual for the pilot to be dunked into the Atlantic before reaching his observation
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Free Life (balloon)


Free Life was the name of the Rozière balloon (registration N2079) that made the fourth attempt at crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The balloon was launched from East Hampton, New York on September 20, 1970, piloted by Malcolm Brighton, with Rodney Anderson and Pamela Brown on board. The adventure was thought up by Rodney Anderson and his wife, Pamela Brown. Pamela Brown was the actress daughter of Kentucky politician and attorney John Y. Brown, Sr. and the sister of Kentucky Fried Chicken entrepreneur and future Kentucky Governor John Y.
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Steve Fossett


records ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. On August 29, 2006, he set the world altitude record for gliders over El Calafate, Argentina at . On February 21, 1995, Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, after taking off from South Korea, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. In 2002, he became the first person to fly around the world alone, nonstop in any kind of aircraft. He launched the 10-story high balloon "Spirit
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Balloon Fight


October 1985, the Sharp X1 in November 1985, the Game Boy Advance as "Balloon Fight-e" for the e-Reader in the United States on September 16, 2002, and as part of the Famicom Mini Series in Japan on May 21, 2004. It can also be played in "Animal Crossing" for the GameCube. Nintendo released a Game & Watch version of the same name, based on the NES version's Balloon Trip mode. The protagonist is "a Balloon Man". Unlike Balloon Fighters
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Adrien L. J. Leps


German plane in a solo victory on 6 April 1918. In May 1918, he teamed with Gabriel Guérin and Paul Santelli in wins over three German observation balloons and an Albatros; on the 11th of the month, he received the British Military Cross. On 6 June, he shared a win over another balloon with Pierre Cardon. On the 15th, he singlehandedly shot down his fifth enemy gasbag, becoming a balloon buster ace. In the wake of this dozenth victory, he was upgraded to capitaine on 14 August 1918.
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Lindstrand Balloons


Lindstrand Balloons was a manufacturer of hot air balloons and other aerostats. The company was started by Swedish-born pilot and aeronautical designer Per Lindstrand in Oswestry, England, as Colt Balloons (later Thunder & Colt Balloons, then Lindstrand Balloons) in 1978. Lindstrand Balloons was known for its leading-edge engineering, which included sophisticated testing and production facilities. Lindstrand Balloons designed and built the hot air balloons flown by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson on their record breaking flights; first across the Atlantic Ocean in 1987 and then the
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Double Eagle V


Double Eagle V was the first balloon to make a successful crossing of the Pacific Ocean. It launched from Nagashima, Japan on November 10, 1981, and landed in Mendocino National Forest in California 84 hours and 31 minutes later, travelling a record . The four-man crew consisted of Albuquerque balloonists Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, and Ron Clark, and thrill-seeking restaurateur Rocky Aoki, who helped fund the flight. Abruzzo and Newman had previously been two of the pilots of "Double Eagle II", which in
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Stephen Stills


solo albums that reached the top 20. 2005 saw Stills release "Man Alive!", his first solo offering in 14 years. "Man Alive!" was released on the small English independent folk rock label Talking Elephant, and was not widely reviewed. The record did not chart on either side of the Atlantic, and was received lukewarmly by the few critics who did review it. Throughout 2006 and 2007, Stills toured regularly as a solo artist with "the Quartet", which consisted of drummer Joe Vitale,
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Bert Hinkler


, the Johnston Memorial Prize, and the Britannia Trophy for the most meritorious flying performance of the year. This was the first solo flight across the South Atlantic. He was only the second person to cross the Atlantic solo, after Charles Lindbergh. Hinkler married in 1932. On 7 January 1933, Hinkler left London Air Park, Hanworth, England, in the Puss Moth in an attempt to break the flying record to Australia held by C. W. A. Scott of 8 days 20 hours. Nothing more was heard of him until
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2005 Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race


and therefore held the world record for the fastest Ladies Fours across the Atlantic. They also were the only fours boat to complete the race without using any of their emergency water balast. The first solo to cross the finish line was Chris Martin in the boat "Pacific Pete". He crossed the finish at 03:24 UTC on 7 February 2006 – a crossing time of 68 days, 15 hours, 19 minutes. Martin had rowed for Great Britain in six consecutive World Championships – at junior, under 23 and senior levels.
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De Havilland Puss Moth


previous record set up by Glen Kidston by more than one day. Most famous of the record breaking Puss Moths was Jim Mollison's "G-ABXY", "The Heart's Content" which completed the first solo east-west Atlantic crossing in August 1932 from Portmarnock Strand near Dublin to New Brunswick, Canada and the first east-west crossing of the South Atlantic from Lympne Aerodrome to Natal, Brazil in February 1933. His wife Amy Johnson made record flights between England and Cape Town using "G-ACAB"
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Free Life (balloon)


built several balloons and became the main builder for the "Bristol Belle", the name given to the first modern hot air balloon in Europe. The "Free Life" attempt was the first use of a Roziere style balloon for an Atlantic attempt, built by Mark Semich, using a combination of helium and hot air. Below the spherical helium gas cell is a conical sleeve where air can be heated by burners in the same way as a normal hot air balloon. By varying the hot air temperature, altitude can be
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Balloonomania


to cross it in every direction and to survey the whole peninsula in a few weeks? The shadow of the first balloon… as it glided over that unhappy country, would virtually emancipate every slave, and would annihilate slavery forever.” Shelley also wrote a sonnet entitled “To a balloon, laden with Knowledge” which reads: Balloonomania was not universal amongst the Romantic poets, however. In contrast to Coleridge, Wordsworth and Shelley, William Blake mocked and satirized the idea of manned flight in his unfinished prose work “An
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T.I. discography


Atlantic, in 2003. It contained the lead single "24's", which had peaked at number 78 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, his first solo entry there. "Trap Muzik" later debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it much more successful than his previous effort. The following singles, "Rubberband Man" and "Let's Get Away", also impacted the Hot 100
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Economy of Paris


on the plain of Javel, next to the Seine, making sulfuric acid, potash, and chlorine, called "Eau de Javel." The plant also made hydrogen gas, used in the first manned balloon flights, and varnish, used to seal the fabric of balloons. During the Restoration, inspired by the work of the chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal and other scientists, new factories were built along the left bank of the Seine, making a wide variety of new chemical products, but also heavily polluting the river.
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Villa Sormani


powered by hot air. Andreani undertook to fund the Gerli brothers to build a much larger hot-air balloon with a diameter of that would be capable of allowing a man to take to the air. The balloon took 24 days to make and its laden weight was about . The first flight was on 25 February 1784. An invited crowd then gathered on 13 March 1784 at the Villa Sormani which was his brother's residence. The spectators saw Andreani and two of his assistants ascend to a height of over whilst the balloon
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Walnut Street Prison


room. The first manned balloon flight in North America was made by Jean-Pierre Blanchard on January 9, 1793. He launched his balloon from the prison yard of the jail, before a crowd of spectators that included President George Washington, Vice-President John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Blanchard crossed the Delaware River and safely landed in Deptford, New Jersey. The Walnut Street Jail was to be converted into a penitentiary in 1790. But because of political reasons (and the resistance of
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The Sun (New York City)


for its central role in the Great Moon Hoax of 1835, a fabricated story of life and civilization on the Moon which the paper falsely attributed to British astronomer John Herschel and never retracted. On April 13, 1844, "The Sun" published as factual a story by Edgar Allan Poe now known as "The Balloon-Hoax", retracted two days after publication. The story told of an imagined Atlantic crossing by hot-air balloon. Today, the paper is best known for the 1897 editorial "Is There a
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The Balloon-Hoax


"The Balloon-Hoax" is the title used in collections and anthologies of a newspaper article written by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1844. Originally presented as a true story, it detailed European Monck Mason's trip across the Atlantic Ocean in only three days in a gas balloon. It was later revealed as a hoax and the story was retracted two days later. The story now known as "The Balloon-Hoax" was first printed in "The Sun" newspaper in New York. The article provided a
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Zac Sunderland


Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, and finally got to Cape Town, where he had a chance meeting with Mike Perham, who was competing for the record as the world's youngest solo-circumnavigator, and Minoru Saito who, at 75, was making his eighth trip and held the record as the oldest solo, non-stop circumnavigator. After departing Cape Town, Sunderland continued to St. Helena and then across the Atlantic to Grenada. His next stop was Panama, where he crossed the canal into the Pacific. After stops in
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Unpowered aircraft


or may not be tethered. Free balloon flight has little directional control. Gliding aircraft include sailplanes, hang gliders, and paragliders that have full directional control in free flight. The first manned aircraft were kites, balloons and gliders. Man-lifting kites were used in ancient China and Japan, often as a punishment for prisoners. Unmanned hot-air balloons and toy "bamboo-copters" are also recorded in Chinese history. The first manned free flight was in a hot-air balloon built by the brothers Joseph-
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Falmouth, Cornwall


, a centre of Cornish pilot gig rowing. Solo yachtsman Robert Manry crossed the Atlantic from Falmouth, Massachusetts (which is named for Falmouth) to Falmouth, Cornwall, from June–August 1965 in the thirteen-and-a-half-foot "Tinkerbelle"—this was the smallest boat to make the crossing at the time. The town was the location for the 1966, 1982 and 1998 Tall Ships' Race in which approximately ninety Tall Ships set sail for Lisbon, Portugal. It also saw total coverage of the total eclipse
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Carl Edgar Myers


also experimented in making artificial rain in areas where rain was deficient for agriculture. He made oxy-hydrogen balloons that were exploded at high altitude to cause rain. He contracted with the U.S. government and lumber companies to make these balloon "bombs" for the production of man-made rain. Myers was a manager for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and the superintendent of their Aeronautic Concourse for balloon demonstrations and aerial races. He made balloon military warships and inventions that could be used for defense in case of attack by
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Gas balloon


are not balloons) as the dominant form of airship. The first gas balloon made its flight in August 1783. Designed by professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, it carried no passengers or cargo. On 1 December 1783 their second hydrogen-filled balloon made a manned flight piloted by Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert, 10 days after the first manned flight in a Montgolfier hot air balloon. The next project of Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers was "La Caroline", an elongated steerable craft that followed Jean
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Union Army Balloon Corps


Engineers told Lowe that Wise was preparing to bring up his own balloon, supposedly the "Atlantic." Other accounts state that John LaMountain had taken possession of the "Atlantic" after a failed flight he made with Wise in 1859, and later place the "Atlantic" with LaMountain at Fort Monroe. Lowe's report says that Captain Whipple indicated they had instructed Mr. Wise to construct a new balloon. He also proposed that Lowe pilot the new balloon. Prof. Lowe was vehemently opposed to flying one of Wise's old-
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Lia Ditton


Aurelia Ditton (born 1980 in London), known as Lia Ditton, is a professional sailor, ocean rower, motivational speaker and conceptual artist, now based in San Francisco, California. Ditton is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. In her first solo crossing of the Atlantic, aged 25, Ditton was the youngest competitor and only woman to finish the single-handed transatlantic race, Faraday Mill OSTAR 2005. Ditton crossed the finish line 4th in the multihull class after 27 days 9 hours 19 minutes at sea.
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Transatlantic flight


Africa or Norway. To descend, Trappe would have popped or released some of the balloons. The last time the Atlantic was crossed by helium balloon was in 1984 by Colonel Joe Kittinger. The fastest transatlantic flight was done by a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird in 1 hour 56 minutes in 1974. The fastest time for an airliner is 2 hours 53 minutes by the Concorde in 1996. The fastest time for a subsonic airliner is 5 hours 1 minute in a Vickers VC10 , however a Boeing 787 did the flight in 5 hours 13
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The Daily Graphic


at pictures, and the illustrated weeklies do not come as often as I need them." Croly was an admirer of Walt Whitman, and published a number of his poems in the "Graphic". An early publicity stunt pulled by the "Graphic" in 1873 was the sponsoring of a cross-Atlantic balloon trip by Washington Donaldson. The flight proved unsuccessful, but it did draw significant attention to the paper. "The Daily Graphic" was also the first American paper to print a daily weather map, which started
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USS South Carolina (CGN-37)


1990 for law enforcement operations returning on 13 April 1990 having acted as Coast Guard, COMCARIBRON flagship and making two drug interdictions. "South Carolina" returned to the Caribbean in July for counter narcotics operations, where she served as flagship for Commander, Joint Task Group 4 and COMCARIBRON. "South Carolina" departed 1 October 1990 for operations with the Battle Group. Following a solo trans-Atlantic crossing, she transited the Suez Canal for the first time in her history. During Operation Desert Shield, she served as flagship for
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Louis Ginglo


Louis Ginglo (born 1965 in Hamilton, Ontario) was the first Canadian rower to cross the Atlantic Ocean singlehandedly from east to west. He began his solo voyage on 20 January 2004 from San Sebastián de La Gomera, Canary Islands. The crossing was completed when he docked at Port Saint Charles, Barbados, on 20 May 2004. His journey of 4678 km took 120 days. As a competitor in the Ocean Rowing Society’s 2004 Atlantic Rowing Regatta, Ginglo took his 8m boat, "Moose On The Move"
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Pennsylvania-class cruiser


in World War I the ships operated in the South Atlantic and the Pacific, then most were transferred to convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic. "Pittsburgh" remained in the Pacific, unsuccessfully patrolling for German commerce raiders. While using "Huntington"s observation balloon on convoy escort duty on 17 September 1917, the balloon landed in the water due to rough weather, with the basket upside down and submerged. Shipfitter First Class Patrick McGunigal received the Medal of Honor for rescuing the pilot. This is said to be the first action
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Kubicek Balloons


Jarní 2a in Brno-Maloměřice, currently the most modern balloon factory in the World. The company has 30 employees (in 2008) and produces circa 90 balloons per year, making it the world’s 3rd largest manufacturer of hot air balloons. As well as producing standard balloon envelopes in 47 types and sizes they also build baskets, burners and a plenty of man carrying specially shaped balloons for advertising purposes e.g. 38 metre tall flying bear, sea container DHL, St. Gallen cathedral and the green heart of Styria. Kubicek Balloons
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Bulova


the first advertisement broadcast on radio in 1926, announcing the first beep of history: ‘At the tone, it’s eight o’clock, Bulova Watch Time’, an announcement heard by millions of Americans. In 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh became the first solo pilot to cross the Atlantic nonstop. His crossing earned him a Bulova Watch and a check for $1000, and it became an emblem for the brand that created the model "Lone Eagle" in his likeness. Bulova claims to have been the first manufacturer to offer
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Blue Riband


-Atlantic competition, which was compiled retrospectively, was regarded as starting with the crossings by the steamships "Sirius" and "Great Western" in 1838. Although not the first steamships to cross the Atlantic ("Savannah" had crossed in 1819, and "Royal William" in 1831) nor the fastest to make the crossing (the packet sailing ship "Columbia" crossed west to east in 15 days 23 hours in 1830, and crossings by sail packets of 16 and 17 days were not unheard of) the "
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America (aircraft)


The America was a Fokker C-2 trimotor monoplane that was flown in 1927 by Richard E. Byrd, Bernt Balchen, George Otto Noville, and Bert Acosta on their transatlantic flight. For eight years after the first non-stop heavier than air Atlantic crossing by a British Vickers Vimy in 1919, there were no further such flights. Then, in 1927, three crossings were made by American flyers, the "America"'s being the third after Lindbergh's first solo crossing in the "Spirit of St. Louis" flight and Clarence
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Balloon (aeronautics)


balloon and the gas balloon are still in common use. Montgolfière balloons are relatively inexpensive, as they do not require high-grade materials for their envelopes, and they are popular for balloonist sport activity. The first balloon which carried passengers used hot air to obtain buoyancy and was built by the brothers Josef and Etienne Montgolfier in Annonay, France in 1783: the first passenger flight was 19 September 1783, carrying a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. The first tethered manned balloon flight was by a larger Montgolfier balloon
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