The balloon in which Coxwell and Glaisher made their famous ascent of 29,000 feet.
One of the longest balloon voyages on record in point of time consumed is that of Dr. Wegener of the Observatory at Lindenberg, in 1905. He remained in the air for 52¾ hours.
The longest voyage, as to distance, up to 1910, was that of Count de La Vaulx and Count Castillon de Saint Victor in 1906, in the balloon “Centaur.” This was a comparatively small balloon, having a capacity of only 55,000 cubic feet of gas. The start was made from Vincennes on October 9th, and the landing at Korostischeff, in Russia, on October 11th. The air-line distance travelled was 1,193 miles, in 35¾ hours. The balloon “Centaur” was afterward purchased by the Aero Club of America, and has made many voyages in this country.
The Federation Aeronautique Internationale, an association of the aeronauts of all nations, was founded in 1905. One of its functions is an annual balloon race for the International Challenge Cup, presented to the association by James Gordon Bennett, to be an object for competition until won three times by some one competing national club.
The first contest took place in September, 1906, and was won by the American competitor, Lieut. Frank P. Lahm, with a voyage of 402 miles.
The second contest was from St. Louis, Mo., in 1907. There were three German, two French, one English, and three American competitors. The race was won by Oscar Erbslöh, one of the German competitors, with an air-line voyage of 872¼ miles, landing at Bradley Beach, N. J. Alfred Leblanc, now a prominent aviator, was second with a voyage of 867 miles, made in 44 hours. He also landed in New Jersey.
The third race started at Berlin in October, 1908, and was won by the Swiss balloon “Helvetia,” piloted by Colonel Schaeck, which landed in Norway after having been 74 hours in the air, and covering a journey of 750 miles. This broke the previous duration record made by Dr. Wegener in 1905.
The fourth contest began on October 3, 1909, from Zurich, Switzerland. There were seventeen competing balloons, and the race was won by E. W. Mix, representing the Aero Club of America, with a voyage of 589 miles.
The fifth contest began at St. Louis, October 17, 1910. It was won by Alan P. Hawley and Augustus Post, with the “America II.” They travelled 1,355 miles in 46 hours, making a new world’s record for distance.