X-Nico

unusual facts about balloonist



Adolphe Schneider

Adolphe's grandson Jacques Schneider (1879–1928) inherited the family business, and was a balloonist and aircraft enthusiast who created the Schneider Trophy.

Balloonist theory

In 1667, Jan Swammerdam, a Dutch anatomist famous for working with insects, struck the first important blow against the balloonist theory.

Bixio

Jacques Alexandre Bixio (1808-1875), French doctor, balloonist and politician

Franz Reichelt

Early parachuting successes, such as those by Louis-Sébastien Lenormand in 1783 and by balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard, had used fixed-canopy parachutes (that were already "open" before the jump began), and although André-Jacques Garnerin had invented a frameless parachute suitable for use from high altitudes, by 1910 a parachuting solution that was suitable for use when jumping from a plane or at low altitude had yet to be developed.

Green’s Balloon at Newcastle

At the time there were a family of Balloonists from London, Charles Green, who flew from London to Weilburg, Duchy of Nassau (Germany) in 1836 and by the time he retired in 1852, he had flown in a balloon more than 500 times.

Joe Ritchie

Ritchie and his long-time personal friend, record-setting balloonist Steve Fossett, broke Chuck Yeager’s transcontinental speed record flying his Piaggio on February 6, 2003.

Leona Dare

In 1888, Leona Dare teamed up with Swiss balloonist Eduard Spelterini.

Max Anderson

Maxie Anderson (1934–1983), American hot air balloonist and businessman

Project Strato-Lab

The Strato-Lab flights culminated in a record-setting flight on May 4, 1961, by Commander Malcolm Ross and Lieutenant Commander Victor Prather (United States Navy) to test the Navy's Mark IV full-pressure suit.

QinetiQ 1

The current balloon flight record was set by Malcolm Ross (USNR) and Victor Prather (USN), who took the Strato-Lab V balloon to 34,668 m (113,740 ft) on May 4, 1961 above the Gulf of Mexico.

Roland Gäbler

Gäbler together with the adventurer and balloonist Steve Fossett also established a world record in high-speed sailing on the catamaran PlayStation (34m length).

Szamotuły

Hans Georg Friedrich Groß (1860-1924), German balloonist and airship constructor

Temple the Balloonist

Harmony Gold attempted to produce an English dub to sell to the American market under at least two different titles - Sabrina's Journey and Tiffany's Traveling Band - but Temple the Balloonist has never been released in English.

Thomas Baldwin

Thomas Scott Baldwin (1860–1923), U.S. Army Major and pioneer balloonist

Tightrope walking

Henri L'Estrange, 19th century Australian; first person to tightrope walk across Sydney harbour and early balloonist

Van Orman

Ward Van Orman (1894–1978), American engineer, inventor and balloonist

Welham Green

In the village, on the corner of Huggins Lane and Parsonage Lane, is a stone plinth marking a point close to which in 1784 (at 3.30pm on 15 September) the Italian balloonist Vincenzo Lunardi, while on the first hydrogen filled balloon flight in England, is reputed to have made his first landing, although there is reason to believe that the site was probably nearer Northaw.

Zbigniew Burzyński

Zbigniew Burzyński (March 31, 1902 in Żółkiew near Lwów – December 30, 1971 in Warsaw), was a Polish balloonist and constructor of balloons, pioneer of Polish balloons, who twice won the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning, also beat the world record.

Ženavlje

Ženavlje is known as the unplanned landing site of a stratospheric balloon with the Belgian pioneering balloonist Max Cosyns and his student Nérée van der Elst on 18 August 1934.


see also