Balloon Fiesta Gordon Bennett Feature

Long before men have tried to fly around the world in a balloon, balloon pilots have tried to capture the oldest and most prestigious prize in aviation, the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett . Also known as the Coupe Gordon Bennett and more popularly the Gordon Bennett Cup, the goal of this age-old competition is to fly the farthest distance from the launch site .

Adventurer and newspaper tycoon Gordon Bennett initiated this timeless challenge. He sponsored an annual auto race, airplane races and even co-funded Stanley's expedition to Africa to find Livingston. In 1906 he inaugurated the world's first series of air races by organizing the first balloon race on record and inaugurating it as an international event. To insure the success of his event, he asked for assistance from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world's oldest air sports organization. His fi rst international gas balloon race launched on September 30, 1906 from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France before a crowd of 200,000 spectators. The winning team represented the United States of America. Americans Frank P. Lahm, pilot, and Henry Hersey, co-pilot, flew 402 miles to claim the first Gordon Bennett Cup. The inaugural event was such a success, Bennett turned its future over to the FAI while he continued to provide the prestigious race trophy under his name.

The second race in 1907 staged in Saint Louis, Missouri drew 300,000 spectators. In 1908, the Swiss winners set a world duration record for small gas sport balloons of 73 hours aloft. That record that would stand for 87 years and not be broken until 1995 when another Gordon Bennett team led by Wilhelm Elmers would raise the bar to 92 hours .

By 1909, the Gordon Bennett Cup had risen to such popularity that 400 thousand spectators were attracted to its second occasion to launch from Paris, France. Each year, pilots carry special airmail and other memorabilia to commemorate the event. They continue their struggles to stretch the distance of their journeys.

Over the past two decades, the race has moved from country to country , where traditionally, the winning country hosts the next year's competition. Paris was to be the host city in 1998, but bad weather caused the event to be cancelled. This allowed the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale to entertain bids for host sites for the following year. The United States was one of several countries submitting bids to host the race. Following an engaging presentation by former Balloon Fiesta President Mark Sullivan, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale awarded the 43rd Coupe de Gordon Bennett to the United States.

On Saturday, October 2, 1999 from Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico , the 43rd race officially began around 9:30 p.m. Mountain Time. First to launch was the Sweden team of Hans Akerstedt and Jan Balkedal. Around 10:45 p.m. the German team of Wilhelm Eimers and Bernd Landsmann were the last to launch.

The 43rd Gordon Bennett Cup featured an international field of 20 teams from the around the globe. Former Gordon Bennett winners competing in the 43rd race included 1994 winner, Christian Stoll from Switzerland , and two-time Gordon Bennett winner, Wilhem Eimers from Germany .

The United States was represented by a trio of accomplished and world-renowned gas balloon pilots, all of whom live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mark Sullivan, a recipient of one of ballooning's highest honors , the Montgolfier Diplome, has competed successfully in all of Gas Ballooning's biggest events, finishing second in the 1997 Gordon Bennett competition. Richard Abruzzo is a two-time winner of the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race . Abruzzo and Troy Bradley also hold the world record for being the first to fly a balloon from North America to Africa. In addition to winning the 1998 America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race , Bradley also holds various ballooning distance records for different balloon classes.

Each country is allowed to enter their three best balloon teams . Everyone has to use the same lifting gas and similar balloons. Only two balloon pilots can be on board each balloon Once airborne each team tries to fly farther than any other team, non-stop through days and nights, dodging storms and fighting fatigue. The winners are declared as the best balloon pilots in the world.

On October 14, 2000, just one day before the 29th annual Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® ended, the world's oldest air sports organization, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) celebrated its 95th anniversary. A non-profit organization, the FAI is represented by 85 member countries. Founder of the Gordon Bennett Cup races, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., turned to the FAI for assistance in organizing the first Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, launched from Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France on September 30, 1906. The inaugural event was such a success, Bennett turned its future over to the FAI while he continued to provide the prestigious trophy under his name. It is the Commission Internationale D'Aerostation (CIA), also known today as the FAI Ballooning Commission, that is responsible for making sure rules are followed for this event, as well as other sanctioned ballooning competitions. The CIA delegates responsible for bringing the 43rd Gordon Bennett Race to Albuquerque were:

• Mark Sullivan, U.S. Delegate
• Gary Lockyer, Canadian Delegate; and
• Markus Haggeney, German Delegate

To learn all about the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and the CIA, please be sure to visit the FAI web site at http://www.fai.org. Some of the more notable ballooning pages include:

• CIA Home Page
• Gordon Bennett Winners Since 1983
• Ballooning Documents - Model Event Rules
• 1999 Sanctioned Events, Including the Gordon Bennett Race
• CIA List of Notable Performances and Achievements

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