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The Gordon Bennett Cup (or Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett) is the world's oldest gas balloon race, and is "regarded as the premier event of world balloon racing" according to the Los Angeles Times.[1][2] Referred to as the "Blue Ribbon" of aeronautics, the first race started from Paris, France, on September 30, 1906.[3] The event was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett Jr., the millionaire sportsman and owner of the New York Herald newspaper.[4] According to the organizers, the aim of the contest "is simple: to fly the furthest distance from the launch site."[4] The contest ran from 1906 to 1938, interrupted from 1914 to 1919 by World War I and in 1931, but was suspended in 1939 when the hosts, Poland, were invaded at the start of World War II. The event was not resurrected until 1979, when American Tom Heinsheimer, an atmospheric physicist, gained permission from the holders to host the trophy.[5] The competition was not officially reinstated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) until 1983.[6]
 | |
| Sport | Gas ballooning |
|---|---|
| English name | Gordon Bennett Cup |
| History | |
| First award | September 30, 1906 |
| Editions | 62 |
| First winner | Frank Purdy Lahm |
| Most wins | Vincent Leys (nine) |
| Most recent | Christian Wagner, Stefanie Liller (2024) |
The record time for the winner of the event is held by Germans Wilhelm Eimers and Bernd Landsmann who remained airborne for over 92 hours in the 1995 race,[7] taking off from Switzerland and landing four days later in Latvia. The distance record is held by the Belgian duo of Bob Berben and Benoît Siméons who, in 2005, piloted their balloon 3,400 kilometers (2,100 mi) from Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, to Squatec, Quebec, Canada.[7] The most successful pilots are French Vincent Leys who won the trophy nine times between 1997 and 2017 (six times as the main pilot, three times as the co-pilot) and Austrian Josef Starkbaum (won seven times as the main pilot). American teams have won on the most occasions, with twelve victories.
The 2010 competition started in the United Kingdom, with the balloons departing from Bristol on September 25. The race was marred by the loss of the American team during a storm over the Adriatic Sea on October 1.[8] The balloon was missing until December 6, when a fishing vessel found the cabin containing the pilots' bodies off the coast of Italy.[9] The 2013 event, departing from France and landing in Portugal, was again won by the French in F-PPGB.[10]
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According to the official rules, the competition is open to all National Aero Clubs (NACs) "who have met their obligations to the FAI", with each NAC being allowed to enter up to three teams whose pilots are of the same nationality as the NAC.[11] Before this, only two teams from any single NAC were permitted to compete in a single competition.[12] Pilots should have at least 50 hours experience as pilot in command and be authorized for night-time flying. At least one member of each team must be capable of communicating with Air Traffic Control in English.[11]
The team who wins the contest receives the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett trophy and the team's NAC will hold the contest two years later (originally the winning NAC would host the competition the following year). Any NAC winning the cup in three consecutive races will be the final holder of the cup with the subsequent option to offer a new cup.[13]
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Resurrected in 1979 by American Tom Heinsheimer, the competition was held without official FAI sanction for four years. Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson secured victory piloting Double Eagle III 987 kilometers (613 mi) in 47 hours from California to Colorado.[5] The following year, the winning team of Jerry Tepper and Corky Myers floated 862 kilometers (536 mi) from the takeoff point in California.[14] The 1981 race was won again by Abruzzo, with different co-pilot Rocky Aoki, who covered 2,168 kilometers (1,347 mi) before touching down,[15] while the 1982 race was won by Joe Kittinger and Charles Knapp who piloted Rosie O'Grady 1,423 kilometers (884 mi).[15] Heinsheimer attempted to gain the copyright over the name "Gordon Bennett" and run the event without FAI sanction. However the FAI were granted exclusive rights to the name in 1983, and the organization officially reinstated the competition later that year.[6] Heinsheimer went on to arrange further contests in the United States which were still reported in the national press as being the "Gordon Bennett Balloon Race" or similar.[16][17][18]
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The 1908 race in Berlin saw the fall of the balloon Conqueror, flown by A. Holland Forbes and Augustus Post. Conqueror was the largest balloon entered in the race, standing 80 feet (24 m) high and with a gas capacity of 80,000 cubic feet (2,300 m3). Before the race Forbes had attempted to lengthen the balloon's appendix to give the team a strategic advantage. Instead the balloon hit a fence just after takeoff, lost two ballast bags, ascended rapidly and ripped open three minutes into the race. The pair slashed off ballast as they fell 3,000 feet (910 m). Their descent was slowed only as the balloon's fabric caught in the netting and formed a rough parachute. They took hold of the ring above them and lifted their feet as the basket smashed through the tiled roof of a house in the Berlin suburb of Friedenau. Both the men and their instruments survived intact.[19][20]
The winners of the 1910 Gordon Bennett Cup, Alan R. Hawley and Augustus Post, set a distance and duration record of 1,173 miles (1,888 km) in 44 hours and 25 minutes,[21] but the pair of experienced balloonists landed in a remote section of Canadian wilderness in Quebec. After a week passed with no word from the team, search parties were formed by the Aero Club of America, but many newspapers reported that the men were likely dead. Instead they emerged after ten days, assisted by two local trappers who had been out on a hunting trip and happened to run into them. Hawley had injured a knee, but otherwise the pair were unharmed and received a hero's welcome upon their safe return.[22]
On September 23, 1923, five competitors were killed when they were struck by lightning while six more were injured in storms.[23] Among the dead were Lieutenants John W. Choptaw and Robert S. Olmsted who were killed when their balloon "US Army S6" crashed in Loosbroek, Netherlands.[24][25][26] Sixty years later, in 1983, Americans Maxie Anderson and Don Ida were killed as the gondola detached from their balloon during an attempt to avoid crossing into East German airspace.[27] Anderson and Ida were participating in the "Coupe Charles et Robert" (named for Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers, inventors of the gas balloon) which was run in parallel with the Gordon Bennett Cup. Following their deaths, the "Coupe Charles et Robert" was never run again.[12]
On September 12, 1995, three gas balloons participating in the race entered Belarusian air space. Despite the fact that competition organizers had informed the Belarusian Government about the race in May and that flight plans had been filed, a Mil Mi-24B attack helicopter of the Belarusian Air Force shot down one balloon,[1][28] killing two American citizens, Alan Fraenckel and John Stuart-Jervis.[2][29] Another of the balloons was forced to land while the third landed safely over two hours after the initial downing. The crews of the two balloons were fined for entering Belarus without a visa and released. Belarus has neither apologized nor offered compensation for the deaths.[30]
On September 29, 2010, the 2004 trophy-winning American team of Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis went missing in thunderstorms over the Adriatic Sea.[31] On September 30, the USA retrieval crew suggested that the balloon may have ditched in the sea or have been destroyed by lightning.[32] Debris was found on October 1 by search crews but race control determined that it was not from the missing balloon.[33] Despite this, organizers later stated that the final calculated rate of descent of the balloon had been about 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), and that the team's survival was "unlikely".[34] The search for the missing pair was called off on October 4.[8] The balloon's cabin containing the bodies was recovered by an Italian fishing boat on December 6.[9]
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Key
Record breaking flights are denoted by the following:
| Record * |
| Edition | Date[A] | Starting point | Crew | Country | Balloon name | Time (hh:mm) |
Distance (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 30, 1906 | Tuileries, Paris (France) | Frank Lahm, Henry Hersey |  USA |
United States | 22:15 | 641.10 |
| 2 | October 27, 1907 | St. Louis (United States) | Oskar Erbslöh, Henry Helm Clayton |  Germany |
Pommern | 40:00 | 1403.55 |
| 3 | October 11, 1908 | Berlin (Germany) | Theodor Schaek, Emil Messner |  Switzerland |
Helvetia | 73:01 | 1190.00 |
| 4 | October 3, 1909 | Zürich (Switzerland) | Edgar W. Mix, Andre Roussel |  USA |
America II | 35:07 | 1121.11 |
| 5 | October 17, 1910 | St. Louis (United States) | Alan Ramsay Hawley, Augustus Post | USA |
America II | 44:25 | 1887.60 |
| 6 | October 5, 1911 | Kansas City (United States) | Hans Gericke, Otto Duncker | Germany |
Berlin II | 12:28 | 757.84 |
| 7 | October 27, 1912 | Stuttgart (Germany) | Maurice Bienaimé, René Rumpelmayer |  France |
La Picardie | 45:42 | 2191.00 |
| 8 | October 12, 1913 | Paris (France) | Ralph Hazlett Upson, Ralph Albion Drury Preston |  USA |
Goodyear | 43:30 | 618.00 |
| 9 | October 23, 1920 | Birmingham (United States) | Ernest Demuyter, Mathieu Labrousse |  Belgium |
Belgica | 40:15 | 1769.00 |
| 10 | September 18, 1921 | Brussels (Belgium) | Paul Armbruster, Louis Ansermier | Switzerland |
Zürich | 27:24 | 766.00 |
| 11 | August 6, 1922 | Geneva (Switzerland) | Ernest Demuyter, Alexander Veenstra | Belgium |
Belgica | 25:49 | 1372.10 |
| 12 | September 23, 1923 | Brussels (Belgium) | Ernest Demuyter, Leon Coeckelbergh | Belgium |
Belgica | 21:00 | 1155.00 |
| 13 | June 15, 1924 | Brussels (Belgium) | Ernest Demuyter, Leon Coeckelbergh | Belgium |
Belgica | 43:16 | 714.00 |
| 14 | June 7, 1925 | Brussels (Belgium) | Alexander Veenstra, Philippe Quersin | Belgium |
Prince Leopold | 47:30 | 1345.00 |
| 15 | May 30, 1926 | Antwerp (Belgium) | Ward Van Orman, Walter W. Morton | USA |
Goodyear III | 16:37 | 864.00 |
| 16 | September 10, 1927 | Detroit (United States) | Edward J. Hill, Arthur G. Schlosser | USA |
Detroit | 48:00 | 1198.00 |
| 17 | June 30, 1928 | Detroit (United States) | William Elsworth Kepner, William Olmstead Eareckson | USA |
US Army | 48:00 | 740.80 |
| 18 | September 28, 1929 | St. Louis (United States) | Ward Van Orman, Alan L. McCracken | USA |
Goodyear VIII | 24:00 | 548.94 |
| 19 | September 1, 1930 | Cleveland (United States) | Ward Van Orman, Alan L. McCracken | USA |
Goodyear VIII | 27:56 | 872.00 |
| 20 | September 25, 1932 | Basel (Switzerland) | Thomas G. W. Settle, Wilfred Bushnell | USA |
US Navy | 41:20 | 1550.00 |
| 21 | September 2, 1933 | Chicago (United States) | Franciszek Hynek, Zbigniew Burzyński |  Poland |
SP-ADS Kościuszko | 38:32 | 1361.00 |
| 22 | September 23, 1934 | Warsaw (Poland) | Franciszek Hynek, Władysław Pomaski | Poland |
SP-ADS Kościuszko | 44:48 | 1333.00 |
| 23 | September 16, 1935 | Warsaw (Poland) | Zbigniew Burzyński, Władysław Wysocki | Poland |
SP-AMY Polonia II | 57:54 | 1650.47 |
| 24 | August 30, 1936 | Warsaw (Poland) | Ernest Demuyter, Pierre Hoffmans | Belgium |
OO-BFM Belgica | 46:24 | 1715.80 |
| 25 | June 20, 1937 | Brussels (Belgium) | Ernest Demuyter, Pierre Hoffmans | Belgium |
OO-BFM Belgica | 46:15 | 1396.00 |
| 26 | September 11, 1938 | Liège (Belgium) | Antoni Janusz, Franciszek Janik | Poland |
SP-BCU LOPP | 37:47 | 1692.00 |
| — | September 3, 1939 | Lwów (Poland)[B] | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | June 25, 1983 | Paris (France) | Stefan Makné, Ireneusz Cieślak | Poland |
SP-BZO Polonez | 36:00 | 690.00 |
| 28 | October 13, 1984 | Zürich (Switzerland) | Karl Spenger, Martin Messner | Switzerland |
HB-BFC Jura | 43:08 | 793.00 |
| 29 | September 28, 1985 | Geneva (Switzerland) | Josef Starkbaum, Gert Scholz |  Austria |
HB-BBL Volksbank | 21:09 | 342.00 |
| 30 | October 18, 1986 | Salzburg (Austria) | Josef Starkbaum, Gert Scholz | Austria |
HB-BBL Volksbank | 19:11 | 272.43 |
| 31 | October 3, 1987 | Seefeld (Austria) | Josef Starkbaum, Gert Scholz | Austria |
HB-BBL Volksbank | 32:16 | 852.00 |
| 32 | October 23, 1988 | Bregenz (Austria) | Josef Starkbaum, Gert Scholz | Austria |
OE-PZS Polarstern | 41:09 | 1110.90 |
| 33 | September 16, 1989 | Lech (Austria) | Josef Starkbaum, Gert Scholz | Austria |
OE-PZS Polarstern | 37:33 | 911.20 |
| 34 | September 2, 1990 | Lech (Austria) | Josef Starkbaum, Gert Scholz | Austria |
OE-PZS Polarstern | 33:20 | 692.50 |
| 35 | September 21, 1991 | Lech (Austria) | Volker Kuinke, Jürgen Schubert |  Germany |
D-EUREGIO | 44:18 | 1039.40 |
| 36 | September 19, 1992 | Stuttgart (Germany) | David N. Levin, James Herschend |  USA |
D-ASPEN | 45:36 | 964.19 |
| 37 | October 4, 1993 | Albuquerque (United States) | Josef Starkbaum, Rainer Röhsler | Austria |
OE-PZS Polarstern | 59:29 | 1832.00 |
| 38 | September 18, 1994 | Lech (Austria) | Karl Spenger, Christian Stoll | Switzerland |
HB-BZH Stadt Wil | 31:01 | 825.14 |
| 39 | September 9, 1995 | Wil (Switzerland) | Wilhelm Eimers, Bernd Landsmann | Germany |
D-OCOL Columbus II | 92:11 * | 1628.10 |
| 40 | September 28, 1996 | Warstein (Germany) | Wilhelm Eimers, Bernd Landsmann | Germany |
D-OCOL Columbus II | 72:01 | 1286.90 |
| 41 | September 7, 1997 | Warstein (Germany) | Vincent Leys, Jean François Leys | France |
F-PPSE Le Petit Prince | 45:30 | 1732.50 |
| 42 | September 12, 1998 | Paris (France)[C] | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | October 1, 1999 | Albuquerque (United States) | Phillipe de Cock, Ronny Van Havere | Belgium |
D-OCOX Belgica II | 40:15 | 1666.54 |
| 44 | September 9, 2000 | Saint-Hubert (Belgium) | Wilhelm Eimers, Bernd Landsmann | Germany |
D-OOWE Columbus IV | 70:49 | 795.70 |
| 45 | September 8, 2001 | Warstein (Germany) | Vincent Leys, Jean François Leys | France |
F-PPSE Le Petit Prince | 77:47 | 1626.60 |
| 46 | August 31, 2002 | Châtellerault (France) | Vincent Leys, Jean François Leys | France |
F-PPSE Le Petit Prince | 69:59 | 1282.30 |
| 47 | September 14, 2003 | Arc-et-Senans (France) | Vincent Leys, Jean François Leys | France |
F-PPSE Le Petit Prince | 53:42 | 1596.50 |
| 48 | August 29, 2004 | Thionville (France) | Richard Abruzzo, Carol Rymer Davis | USA |
N96YD Zero Gravity | 52:52 | 1803.36 |
| 49 | October 1, 2005 | Albuquerque (United States) | Bob Berben, Benoît Siméons | Belgium |
N6326T | 65:20 | 3400.39 * |
| 50 | September 9, 2006 | Waasmunster (Belgium) | Philippe de Cock, Ronny Van Havere | Belgium |
D-OCOX Belgica 2 | 66:53 | 2449.60 |
| 51 | September 15, 2007 | Brussels (Belgium)[C] | — | — | — | — | — |
| 52 | October 7, 2008 | Albuquerque (United States) | David Hempleman-Adams, Jonathan Mason |  Great Britain |
N5054 Lady Luck | 74:12 | 1768.67 |
| 53 | September 5, 2009 | Geneva (Switzerland) | Sébastien Rolland, Vincent Leys | France |
F-PPSE Golden Eyes | 85:18 | 1588.29 |
| 54 | September 25, 2010 | Bristol (England) | Kurt Frieden, Pascal Witpraechtiger[35] | Switzerland[35] |
HB-QKF[35] | 58:37[35] | 2434.31[35] |
| 55 | September 10, 2011 | Gap-Tallard (France) | Sébastien Rolland, Vincent Leys | France |
F-PPSE | 26:42[36] | 779.83 |
| 56 | August 31, 2012 | Toggenburg (Switzerland) | Sébastien Rolland, Vincent Leys | France |
F-PPGB | 69:02[37] | 1620.06 |
| 57 | August 24, 2013 | Grand Nancy-Tomblaine (France) | Vincent Leys, Christophe Houver | France |
F-PPGB | 73:33 | 1402.42[10] |
| 58 | August 29, 2014 | Vichy (France) | Wilhelm Eimers, Matthias Zenge | Germany |
D-OTLI | 61:35 | 1410.64[38] |
| 59 | August 28, 2015 | Pau (France) | Kurt Frieden, Pascal Witprächtiger | Switzerland |
HB-QKF | 68:21 | 2080.80[39] |
| 60 | September 18, 2016 | Gladbeck (Germany) | Kurt Frieden, Pascal Witprächtiger | Switzerland |
HB-QKF MM Technics | 58:12 | 1803.40[40] |
| 61 | September 8, 2017 | Fribourg (Switzerland) | Vincent Leys, Christophe Houver | France |
F-PPGB | 36:20 | 1836.06 |
| 62 | September 27, 2018 | Bern (Switzerland) | Mateusz Rękas, Jacek Bogdański | Poland |
D-OWBA | 58:28 | 1145.29 |
| 63 | September 13, 2019 | Montbéliard (France) | Laurent Sciboz, Nicolas Tieche | Switzerland |
HB-QRV | 82:03 | 1774,76 |
| 64 | August 21, 2021 | Toruń (Poland) | Kurt Frieden, Pascal Witprächtiger | Switzerland |
HB-QKF MM Technics | 85:10 | 1559,68 |
| 65 | September 2, 2022 | St. Gallen (Switzerland) | Wilhelm Eimers, Benjamin Eimers | Germany |
D-OTLI Leonid | 60:50 | 1572,36 |
| 66 | October 7, 2023 | Albuquerque (United States) | Eric Decellières, Benoit Havret | France |
F-PPSE Le Petit Prince | 85:49 | 2661,40 |
| 67 | September 17, 2024 | Münster (Germany) | Christian Wagner, Stefanie Liller | Austria |
O-EZZM | 67:01 | 2111,17 |
Gordon Bennett Cup images
Frank Lahm, inaugural winner of the cup
St. Louis GB Cup 1907, mass inflation of balloons
The balloon United States rises, October 21, 1907, St. Louis, Gordon Bennett 'Great Balloon Race of 1907'
Gordon Bennett balloon race in 1909, Zürich featuring the Parseval airship PL-1
1932 winning pilot Thomas G. W. Settle
1992 winning pilot David N. Levin
Launch day of the 50th Gordon Bennett Cup in Waasmunster, Oost-Vlaanderen
Gordon Bennett Cup 2007, Brussels
Start of Gordon Bennett race in Montbéliard - 2019.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning.
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