Albuquerque, NM – Twelve of the seventeen gas balloons participating in the 66th annual Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race (Gordon Bennett) are flying over North Central Texas and parts of Southern Oklahoma today. The gas balloons launched from Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday, October 7, 2023; a dozen are still flying in the distance competition, five balloons have already landed. Teams are representing nine countries including Austria, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
France Team 1 is leading the distance competition, approaching the Texas/Louisiana Border north of Shreveport; earlier in the day they flew over Paris, Texas. USA Team 1is north of Atlanta Texas, currently in second place. Spain Team 1 is in third place and currently north of Longview.
“The balloons that you’ll see flying across the United States as part of the Gordon Bennett race are FAA-registered aircraft and steered by some of the most talented pilots from around the world,” said Sam Parks, Executive Director, Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. “We’re thrilled to host this event and see just how far these pilots can travel.”
The hydrogen gas-filled sport balloons that launch from Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park, historically will fly great distances. A typical flight path will include an area between Minnesota and Virginia, with the winners landing as far away as Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Vermont and into Quebec and Newfoundland Canada. The first Gordon Bennett launched in 1906, with 16 balloons launching from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France. The United States last hosted the Gordon Bennett in 2008 when sport balloons launched from Albuquerque.
From the ground the sport balloons will appear as spherical in shape, typically white and/or yellow in color, carrying a two-person team in the gondola. Unlike the spy balloons spotted earlier this year over the northern part of the United States and Canada, these sport balloons are much smaller and will have flags draped from either the gondola or the balloon envelope. Plus, they will be easily track online as the sport balloons float across the nation’s mid-section toward the Northeast.
YB tracking technology will be leveraged by pilots during the Gordon Bennett, which allows for satellite tracking of these balloons. Balloons participating in the Gordon Bennett can be tracked, here: https://live.gordonbennett.aero
A Full list of participating teams can be found, here: https://balloonfiesta.com/Gordon-Bennett-2023
More information on this race, can be found, here: https://balloonfiesta.com/Gordon-Bennett-News-Releases-and-Announcements2
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