Q&A: What is the Gordon Bennett?

The 60th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett is taking off soon in Gladbeck, Germany – we explain more about this amazing balloon race...

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Fedor Konyukhov Solo Around-The-World in a Balloon – Official World Record Claims received!

The FAI received the following records claims from the Russian balloonist Fedor Konyukhov, 64, who completed his circumnavigation on Saturday 23 July 2016 by landing near Bonnie Rock (AUS) in a Roziere combined hot-air and helium gas balloon:

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Fedor Konyukhov completed the solo around the world tour and landed safely in Australia!

Russian veteran traveler Fedor Konyukhov, 64, landed safe and sound near the small town of Bonnie Rock on 23 July at 16.15 local time (08.15 UTC) after a 11 day 8 hours and 42 minutes flight in a Roziere combined (hybrid) hot-air and helium gas balloon challenging the 2002 performance of aviation legend Steve Fossett (320 hours 33 minutes). Now, they are both the only pilots to have completed the solo circumnavigation.

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Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett: list of open countries published

The list of open countries, where the gas balloons of the 60th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett can fly, is now published.

The balloons will lift off from Gladbeck, Germany, on 16 September 2016. The winning team will be the one that flies the furthest away from the take-off site.

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Russian Adventurer Fedor Konyukhov launches Solo Around-The-World Bid

On Tuesday, 12 July at 07:30 Local Time (00:30 UTC), Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov, 65, took off in a hot-air balloon in Northam, Western Australia, in a bid to beat the record time for a solo flight around the world. This has only been achieved once before by no other than the late American aviator legend Steve Fossett, who also took off from Northam Airfield in 2002 and is still a current FAI World Record. Konyukhov and his team have been preparing for the challenge for close to a year. He is confident that the balloon’s new technology will help him to break the standing record. He is hoping to fly 33,000km in 13 days or less.

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2015 FAI Annual Report released

The 2015 FAI Annual Report provides an overview of all our activities with plenty of pictures. More compact than the previous editions, it includes the competitions, records, awards, our sponsor Breitling, our partner Red Bull Air Race, and much more!

• View online Flipbook
• Download PDF

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Winners of the 2016 FAI Young Artists Contest Revealed

The FAI international jury selected the winning paintings of the 2016 FAI Young Artists Contest, a competition which every year honours the best paintings from youngsters in three age categories from 7 to 16 years old.

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Fribourg ready to welcome the famous Gordon Bennett Cup

61st Aeronautical Cup for Gas Balloons in 2017

The Canton of Fribourg will have the honour of organising the prestigious Aeronautical Cup for Gas Balloons, the ‘Gordon Bennett’ (FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship) in 2017. In Spain last weekend, the FAI Ballooning Commission (CIA) (which runs the FAI’s ballooning activities) confirmed the choice of Fribourg. It adopted the proposal made by the National Ballooning Commission (FSA) back in November 2015. This international competition, which brings together the world’s best balloonists, will take place near the airstrip in Epagny, just below the Château de Gruyères and amongst the foothills of the Alps. The event will run from 7 to 16 September 2017. For ‘four cornerstones of the Fribourg economy’ a dream will come true.

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6 months until the 60th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett in Gladbeck, Germany!

180 days to go until the 60th edition of the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship. This year the individual stories of the pilots full of adventure, skill, courage, survival and luck will continue in Gladbeck (GER) from 15 – 24 September 2016.

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Swiss Pilot Jacques-Antoine Besnard wins 3rd FAI European Hot Air Airship Championship

Swiss pilot Jacques-Antoine Besnard wins the 3rd FAI European Hot Air Airship Championship in Rottach-Egern (GER) before the two Germans Andreas Merk and Ralph Kremer. The European Championship took place from 24 - 29 February 2016 in the beautiful Tegernseer Valley in Bavaria, Germany.

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