Ben Abruzzo (or Abruzzo ( eng. Ben Abruzzo ), full name - Benjamin Abruzzo ( eng. Benjamin L. Abruzzo ); 1930-1985) - American businessman and aeronaut . In November 1981, together with his crew, for the first time in the world, he crossed the Pacific Ocean in a Double Eagle V balloon .
Ben abruzzo | |
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Birth name | Benjamin Abruzzo ( eng. Benjamin L. Abruzzo ) |
Date of Birth | |
Place of Birth | |
Date of death | |
Place of death | Albuquerque , New Mexico , United States |
Citizenship | USA |
Occupation | businessman , traveler , aeronaut |
Awards and prizes | Gold Medal of the US Congress ( 1979 ) |
Content
Biography
Born on June 9, 1930 in Rockford , Illinois [2] . In 1952 he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . Then he served in the US Air Force . Upon completion, he was seconded to the airbase in New Mexico , located near the city of Albuquerque .
After demobilization , in 1954, Abruzzo together with his family settled in this city and went into business. He was president of the Sandia Peak Tram Company, which built the longest tram in North America, and also engaged in real estate - built houses in the Sandia Mountains, on lands previously considered unsuitable for housing, bought real estate around the ski resorts. Business has enriched it by making a millionaire.
In 1970, Abruzzo became interested in aeronautics, and he learned how to control a balloon . In 1972, thanks to the efforts of Abruzzo and other balloonists in Albuquerque, the first balloon festival in the city was held with the participation of 13 vehicles launched from the parking of the shopping center. Today, the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is the largest event of its kind in the world; it is held annually in October, and over 600 balloons participate in it [3] .
In September 1977, Ben Abruzzo and his colleague in interests ( Maxie Anderson ) decided to cross the Atlantic Ocean using a Double Eagle balloon (“Double Eagle”). The flight lasted 66 hours. All this time, neither Abruzzo nor Anderson almost managed to close his eyes. Nevertheless, it was not destined to carry out his plans: the pilots used up all the ballast , and the Double Eagle still lay down on the water off the coast of Iceland .
In 1978, a second attempt was made to cross the Atlantic . This time there were three aeronautics : engineer Larry Newman joined Ben Abruzzo and Max Anderson. Decided to start from the town of Presque Isle ( Maine ). Balloon Double Eagle II with aeronautics on board took off on August 11 . Six days later, the unit and the crew successfully landed in the vicinity of Paris . B. Abruzzo, M. Anderson and L. Newman were the first people in history to fly over the Atlantic in a balloon. For this flight in 1979, the team was awarded the Gold Medal of the US Congress .
In 1979, Abruzzo, along with Anderson, won a Double Eagle III balloon winning the Gordon Bennett race .
In 1981, he crossed the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, becoming the first in the world to succeed. The Double Eagle V device started on November 9 in the city of Nagashima ( Japan ). Abruzzo was the captain of the crew. Together with him, his friends from Albuquerque, Larry Newman and Ron Clark ( Ron Clark ), as well as the restaurateur from Miami Rocky Aoki ( Rocky Aoki ), who partially funded the event, participated in the flight. The balloon stayed in the air for 84 hours 31 minutes and, having covered a distance of 5768 miles (9244 km), landed at in California . At the same time, Abruzzo, together with his crew, set a world record for the distance of a balloon flight. . In total, he set nine world air balloon records in his life - more than anyone else in the history of aeronautics. .
February 11, 1985 [2] Ben Abruzzo died in a plane crash. That day, he and his wife and four friends on a Cessna- 421 plane headed from Albuquerque to the mountains for a rest. Barely taking off, the plane suddenly began to lose altitude, and then fell and exploded. No one survived the crash.
Awards
- Gold Medal of the US Congress ( 1979 )
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ 1 2 BNF ID : open data platform - 2011.
- ↑ Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Links
- Ben Abruzzo. Biographical information . RIA News.
- Ben L. Abruzzo . Encyclopædia Britannica.
- Peter Stekel . Richard Abruzzo. - 1988 . Journal "Aeronaut".
- Ben Abruzzo - biography . PersonBio.com