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Belgian gas balloon keeps on keeping on..
The Gordon Bennett’s 93-year-old distance record fell Monday to seven of the 14 balloons that took off from Balloon Fiesta Field in Albuquerque Saturday.
But the Belgian balloon piloted by Bob Berben and Benoit Simeons was still aloft, approaching the intersection of Maine and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick early Tuesday afternoon, logging 2,720 miles and doubling the 1,361-mile record set in 1912.
Meanwhile, back in Albuquerque, fiesta officials cast an anxious eye on the skies as a cold front moved into the state, possibly bringing blustery weather for Wednesday’s scheduled 7 a.m. Flight of the Nations mass ascension. Stay tuned.
7:10am — Balloon Competition Canceled: Upper level conditions "too dicey" to fly. Shortly before 7 a.m., Balloon Fiesta officials called off today’s competitive events but said pilots could fly at their own discretion.
Despite mid- to upper-60-degree temperatures and a slight breeze on the ground at Balloon Fiesta Field, officials said weather conditions above the ground were "too dicey" for today’s events to go forward. Several balloons were continuing to inflate at this hour."I’m looking at the field right now and the Pepsi balloon is inflated," said fiesta spokeswoman Kathie Leyendecker.
6:30am — Up, Up and Way Far Away: Somewhere over Quebec, north of Montreal, the Belgian gas balloon piloted by Bob Berben and Benoit Simeons is still aloft at this hour, setting a new distance record in the Gordon Bennett race with every foot it flies.
The last of 26 balloons to take off from Albuquerque Saturday in the Gordon Bennett and the America’s Challenge races, the Belgians had logged 2,540 miles Tuesday morning, nearly twice the old distance record of 1,361 miles set back in 1912.
In fact seven of the 14 entrants in the Gordon Bennett, the world’s oldest aeronautical race, had smashed the record by Monday afternoon.
In the America’s Challenge race, the unofficial winner was the combined U.K./U.S. entry piloted by Janet Folkes and Bill Arras at 1,860 miles. Unofficially placing second was the U.S. balloon flown by Barbara Fricke and Peter Cuneo, 1,780 miles. Both landed in Ontario.
Meanwhile, back at Balloon Fiesta Field in Albuquerque, the Dawn Patrol was up shortly after 6 a.m. and competitive events, including the Sandia Casino Blackjack Competition, are scheduled to get under way around 7 a.m.
