59th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett: Victory for Swiss Team SUI 01 Frieden and Witprächtiger!

Swiss Team SUI 01 Kurt Frieden and Pascal Witprächtiger (left) won the 59th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship. Having left Pau, France, in the evening of the 28 August, they landed near Jaczno, Poland, after 68h 20min and 2080.80 km from the take-off point at about 8:30am on 1 September. Last year’s winners Team GER 01 Wilhelm Eimers and Matthias Zenge reached the second place with 2071.61 km, and Nicolas Tièche and Laurent Sciboz from Switzerland third with 2067.76 km.

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59th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett – Preparations in Full Swing !

7 hours to go until the take-off of the FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship. The launch of the 17 Teams representing 8 Nations is scheduled for today Friday, 28 August at 22:45 CEST (21:45 UTC) at the Horserace tracks (Hippodrome de Pau).

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Follow the 59th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett online - Launch of the gas balloons on Friday !

The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship, is the oldest and most prestigious event in aviation and the ultimate challenge for the pilots. It is a story full of adventure, skill, courage, survival and luck. The goal is simple: to fly the furthest non-stop distance from the launch site. The international competition was initiated by adventurer and newspaper tycoon James Gordon Bennett Jr. in 1906. Little did he know that this race was to continue until today.

The 59th edition is hosted in Pau, France, on the northern edge of the Pyrenees, 100 km from the Atlantic Ocean and 50km from Spain. In a few days 16 teams of the world’s best gas balloon pilots representing 8 nations will compete. Given the current weather-outlook, all looks for a ”go” on Friday night around sunset at the Hippodrome of Pau. The Prize Ceremony will be held on Friday, 4 September at the Hippodrome of Pau with a spectacular Closing Ceremony to finish the event.

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Event Website for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 Now Up and Running

FAI invites you to visit the new event website for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015. Managed by the Emirates Aerosports Federation (EAF) as the host of the event, it offers quick and easy access to essential information about the Games.

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FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 - Hot Air Balloons and Hot Air Airships Bulletins

The Hot Air Balloons and Hot Air Airships Bulletins for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 is now available for download.

Two Eagles Balloon's Duration and Distance World Records Ratified by FAI

FAI has ratified two world records following the Two Eagle Balloon's fantastic flight across the Pacific Ocean in January.

It took Leonid Tyukhtyaev from Russia and Troy Bradley from USA (above holding the Mexican flag after being taken to shore by a fishing boat in Baja) an incredible 160 hours 34 minutes to reach Baja, Mexico, from Saga, Japan !

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21 May 2000: The Story of Lindsay Muir's Hot Air Balloon World Record

Balloon World Record not broken since

We are pleased to continue our series of world record celebrations with an exceptional woman in ballooning sports: British Lindsay Muir. She established a female category duration world record for balloons in class AX-10 (Hot-air balloons: 4.000 to 6.000 m³) for a flight of 19h 07min 55sec on 21 May 2000 with the balloon “Lindstrand LBL-210 A” (G-FVBF).

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FAI Annual Report: 2014 Edition Is Out!

We are thrilled to share the new 2014 FAI Annual Report.

In these pages you will be taken on a journey through the various events and activities of the Federation.

• View online Flipbook
• Download PDF

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Main decisions taken at the FAI Ballooning Commission 2015 Annual Meeting

The 2015 Annual Meeting of the FAI Ballooning Commission (CIA) was held on 20 and 21 March 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev, the pilots who crossed the Pacific Ocean earlier the year onboard the Two Eagles balloon, honoured the meeting with their presence.

Here are the main decisions that were taken during the meeting:

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Sports and Disciplines Selected for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 Revealed

The FAI has today announced the list of the 11 sports and 24 disciplines selected for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015. More than 1000 athletes, crews and officials will be involved in the multi air sports event. It will be the biggest FAI World Air Games ever organised.

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