PRESS RELEASE
Washington, DC, USA 26 September 1999
FAI WORLD RECORD DIPLOMAS awarded at the SMITHSONIAN AIR and SPACE MUSEUM
BREITLING ORBITER 3 Final Landing
At a ceremony September 23rd, 1999, BERTRAND PICCARD and BRIAN JONES
received their FAI DIPLOMAS for the three ABSOLUTE WORLD RECORDS established
during the flight March 1 to March 21. The BREITLING ORBITER 3 gondola is now on permanent display at the
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. This is the
worlds most visited museum, all categories, and probably the most important
Aerospace museum in the World.
Main speaker was FAI President EILIF NESS. He explained the FAI role in Air
Sports and pointed out the importance of the BREITLING ORBITER 3
achievements and its place in aviation history. He said:
"......This was the last great aeronautical exploit of the 20th century. It
ranks with the greatest in the archives of the FAI. The men who accomplished
it are distinguished ambassadors for air sports and excellent examples for
the children and youth of the world to look up to......"
Eilif Ness was assisted by CIA vice presidents Jakob Burkard, who also
represented the Swiss Aero Club, and Hans Akerstedt.
The BREITLING ORBITER 3 project manager, STEFANO ALBINATI, explained the
reasons for his company’s involvement. BREITLING has a long history of
cooperation with the world of aviation, especially with high performance and
high precision projects.
BERTRAND PICCARD and BRIAN JONES then gave short speeches with highlights
from their flight and explained the aims and purposes of the "Winds of Hope"
Foundation. This is created by BERTRAND PICCARD, BRIAN JONES And BREITLING.
The prime goal of the Foundation is to highlight forms of suffering that
have been all but forgotten or ignored by the media and the general public,
particularly those affecting children, and of doing all in its power to
promote their “healing”. Support will thus be given to concrete projects
providing lasting assistance for operations in keeping with the spirit of
the Foundation. Each year on March 21st the Foundation will award a prize to
the association or promoter of a selected project.
See more:
National Air and Space Museum homepage
http://www.nasm.edu/
Breitling Orbiter homepage
http://www.breitling-orbiter.ch
National Geographic, September 1999 issue. 32 page articles and photos.
(Thoroughly checked by CIA Records Review Subcommittee.)
September 26, 1999
Hans Akerstedt
CIA VP
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