40 HOURS IN A HOMEBUILT BASKET
Since our first Gordon Bennett Race in 2018, we were dreaming of having our own gas balloon basket that would combine all our requirements for comfortable long-time travel – while, at the same time, being as lightweight as possible.
After months of planning, with the support of dedicated club members of the Ballonsportgruppe Stuttgart e.V., the basket was built and finally certified by EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency. In the end of April 2025, we were able to embark on the first major test flight of our new basket, which took us from the launch site of the Freiballonclub Salzach-Inn near Burgkirchen, via Munich, southern Swabia, and Lake Constance to the Black Forest. In 40 hours, we covered 520 kilometers and landed near Bonndorf after almost 40 hours of flight.
The end of the flight wasn’t dictated by the balloon’s dwindling ballast – more than half of it was still available for landing – but rather by the prevailing winds, which pushed the balloon ever closer to the airspace of Zurich Airport, where air traffic controllers were unable to grant permission to pass due to the high volume of traffic. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our flight and are more than satisfied with the performance of our homebuilt basket.
The flight was also a first attempt to qualify for the 2026 Gordon Bennett Race, which will take off from Schönbrunn Palace at Vienna in the end of August. Some other German gas balloon teams will have a say in that too, though ;-)
But, one step at a time. The next stop for us – and our new basket – is the Gordon Bennett Race 2025 on September 5th at Metz, France.
