GORDON BENNETT AND HIS RACES From the Book: Die Gordon Bennett Ballon Rennen (The Gordon Bennett Races) by Ulrich Hohmann Sr along with articles by others.
Many of his contemporaries have considered Mister James Gordon Bennett to be a spleeny American. He was born in New York, May 10th 1841 and died 4 days after his 77th Birthday in Beaulieu near Nizza/France. From his father, a Scottish journalist, he inherited the publishing house of the "New York Herald". Being a publisher makes somebody, even today, independent from money, but also requests a permanent struggle for increasing circulation.
Already in 1871, Gordon-Bennett proved his ability for "public relations", by sponsoring the expedition of Stanley, searching (and finding!) Livingstone, who was missing on his search for the source of the Nile. The later sponsorships of Gordon-Bennett therefore rooted more in his interest for business than in his interest for sports. The winners of ”his” competitions had to tell their adventures only to the reporters of the "New York Herald" as an exclusive story.
Today, we connect his name with the gas-ballooning. We don’t know, if he ever flew in a balloon. Already before 1900, he had donated 10.000 Francs to the Automobil-Club de France as price-money for a motor car race, and he developed the rules himself. This first race then took place on June 14th 1900 from Paris to Lyon. In 1905 he offered to the still young Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) the rules, a one time 25.000 Franc donation and 12.500 Francs for each of the following two years "for the most courageous and experienced pilots of the world struggling for the Grand Prix of the Air".
The competition rules were (and are still today) quite simple: Winner is the nation of the team that covers the maximum distance. Every nation may enter three balloon as maximum and is obliged to host the race in the following year, if they win. If one nation wins this challenge-cup in three following years, the cup finally comes to its possession and this nation has to sponsor a new cup, if the race should continue. This was all laid down in the 23 chapters of the rules, so the COUPE AERONAUTIQUE "Gordon Bennett" was on its way and the spark was ignited for the most fascinating and adventurous competition in ballooning.
Since 2007 the CIA New Technology Subcommittee was supporting the development of specific balloon competition loggers. The goal was to get devices that full fill the requirements for nowadays balloon competition both in precision and functionality. The development was mainly done by Lukas and Marc André and supported by Claude Weber.
A collaboration with Flytec was chosen that allowed the usage of their existing hardware 6020 (flight instrument for hang gliders). The final product is a modified 6020 device with a custom self-written firmware. The new balloon competition loggers heavily improve balloon competitions:
Virtual marker drops give the decision of marks back to the pilot
Goal declarations allow the re-introduction of Fly-On and Pilot Declared Goal tasks
The pilot can see the logged altitude
No more waste, the loggers work with rechargeable batteries
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The history of the Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett is rich with incredible flights, colorful pilots, stories and results. It is a race that has spanned almost three centurys and one that continues to reflect the challenges and adventures of ballooning.
The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, is the most prestigious event in aviation and the ultimate challenge for the balloon pilots and their equipment. The goal is simple: to fly the furthest distance from the launch site.
The international balloon competition was initiated by adventurer and newspaper tycoon Gordon Bennett in 1906, when 16 balloons launched from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France. Little did the crowd of 200,000 spectators know that this race was to continue throughout the 20th century.
These web pages are dedicated to the courageous men and women who have and continue to challenge the skies in this incredible event. Within these pages is the history of this great event, from a list of all race participants and winners to the narrative supplied from a book by Ulrich Hohmann Sr. of Germany. Please feel free to read this material, use it for educational event promotional purposes but pleas respect the copyrights associated with this material for publication and distribution.
It is a story full of adventure, skill, courage survival and luck.
It is the story of the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett.
