In 1958 the Atlantic Ocean had yet to be conquered by balloon so it was big news when four people set out from a beach in Tenerife to attempt an ambitious 3,600 miles east-west crossing to South America. After three years planning it was skipper Arnold “Bushy” Eiloart who learned to fly a gas […]
The Courier d’Avignon, dated October 28, confirms these facts: “From Paris, October 18: Here are the details announced last week for Mr. Montgolfer’s experiment. The calm weather for the last 7 or 8 days has allowed them to be multiplied. Mr. Montgolfer himself has risen on several occasions with Mr. Pilatre de Rozier and a
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On this International Women’s Day we wanted to highlight an extraordinary woman in the world of ballooning. Sophie Blanchard (1778 – 1819) was not only the first woman to pilot her own balloon but the first ever professional lady balloon pilot in the world! Born in France and from humble beginnings she was just a
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March 21st, 1999 at 6:00 GMT, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones successfully landed in the Egyptian desert, after traveling 45’755km in 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes, thus achieving the longest flight in the history of aviation for both distance and duration. The balloonists took off from Chateau-d’Oex, Switzerland, on March 1st, 1999. Many
First circumnavigation of the world by balloon. Read More »
On 3 February, 1902, Robert F. Scott’s British National Antarctic Expedition was on its way back to McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea of Antarctica. The Discovery had reached its easternmost point of exploration on 1 February but, with the Antarctic summer coming to a close, the desire to find a safe harbour at McMurdo was strong.
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Any balloon pilot who has been lucky enough to make a balloon flight across the Alps will probably tell you it was the best flight of their life. The annual International Alpine balloon meet in Chateau D’Oex , Switzerland is one of the most popular destinations for pilots wanting winter sport in January. The Alps,
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7 January 1785 – the day Jean Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries became the first aeronauts to fly across the English Channel . An account of the time tells us that the men were wearing frock coats, dimity waistcoats, nankeen britches, white silk stockings and shoes festooned with black silk ribbons. Their hats
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Ryan O’Neal has died and not one media story mentions his role in the feature film ‘Green Ice’ . Our president doubled for him in the filming of the balloon sequence and the museum is proud to have the balloon, overalls and helmet used in the film. Watch this space for the whole story, but
The Dante balloon group can proudly call themselves ‘the oldest balloon group still active’. It was formed on 5 December in 1971 by a group of enthusiasts including Pete Bish, John Baker, Phil Dunnington … to be continued The original ‘DANTE’ Balloon. Registered G-AZIP, a Cameron AX-7 O-65, c/n 29. (65,000 cu ft. volume) First
DANTE balloon group. Read More »
Terry Adams has enjoyed an illustrious career in ballooning but before that he was a dashing young Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and surely his most memorable flight was in G-AVTL Bristol Belle from the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on 29 November 1970. The story is told in Trailrope #129
Bristol Belle launches from Ark Royal Read More »
