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On 1 November 1962, Eugene ANDREEV jumped from an altitude of 25’458 m over the Soviet city of Volsk. Opening his parachute at 958 m, he covered a record distance of 24’500 m in free-fall. Forty years later, this World Record still remains unbroken.

Eugene ANDREEV was born on 4 September 1926. A Master of Sports in the former USSR, and holder of FAI Sporting Licence #3812, he boarded the Volga balloon on that first day of November 1962 wearing a T-1-3 parachute on his back. Barograph #506 was attached to Andreev’s harness to register his performance (see pictures below). The balloon took off from the city of Volsk (N 52°02’ E 047°20’) at 07.44 (Moscow time) and climbed to an altitude of 25’458 m. After leaving the nacelle, Eugene Andreev covered a distance of 24’500 m in freefall, before opening his parachute at 958 m. Andreev landed safely near the city of Saratov (N 51°48’ E 048° 12’) at 10.21. (FAI Record file #1623)

Barograph #506 and its trace

Will the Record be Broken in 2003 ?
Forty years later, as the “G-1-A : Altitude jumps (freefall distance)” World Record still remains unbroken, at least two teams are trying to break this 40-year-old record. Information available at :
Project of Jean-Michel Fournier
Stratoquest Project of Cheryl Stearns.

Lausanne, 1 November 2002