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12 Sep 2024

Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett: Take-off this Saturday from Germany

LAUNCH UPDATE: Due to weather conditions, the launch of the 67th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett has been postponed From Friday to Saturday 14th September afternoon at the earliest. Stay tuned for further updates (see below for links).

Twenty-one gas balloons will fly up, up, and away into the skies above Münster, in northeast Germany this Saturday. The two-person teams on board the balloons competing in the 67th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett have just one mission: to fly as far as possible from the launch site.


The Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live on YouTube on Thursday at 18:00 CET

Participating in the race is not only about competing for the World Champion title, but also about taking part in an adventure rooted deep in the history of aviation. Beyond the technology available to help the teams and the ground crews today, ultimately the essence of the race lies in their skill, courage, stamina, and luck.

Twenty-one teams

Among the 21 teams in 2024 are reigning champions, Eric Decellières and Benoit Havret from France, no doubt hoping to win again this year.

Legendary pilot Wilhelm Eimers will once again take to the skies with his son, Benjamin Eimers. Together, they are strong contenders in the race: Wilhelm is the most experienced pilot participating, with 31 entries, including this year. He has claimed victory five times, most recently in 2022 alongside Benjamin. Wilhelm also holds an FAI World Duration Record, set in 1995, when he flew non-stop for over 92 hours.

The USA has three teams, as have Germany and France. Two Polish balloons will join the throng, alongside a Spanish team, an Australian team and balloons from Austria, Lithuania the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, plus the all-female team from Great Britain.

The winning team of the prestigious gas balloon race host the competition two years after their win. Wilhelm and Benjamin Eimers won the race in 2022, so Germany is the host nation for 2024. This will be the eighth time that Germany has hosted this prestigious ballooning event.

Where they will fly

North, south, east or west, nobody knows yet where they will land. In collaboration with ground crews, the teams will endeavour to use the meteorological activity to navigate within the defined competition area to reach the furthest distance from Münster. Due to the Russia-Ukrainian conflict, the teams have a border to the East which they will not be able to cross.

Competition schedule

  • 12 September: Check in, Opening Ceremony, filling of sandbags.
  • Saturday 14 September: Briefing, inflation, launch.
  • 13-16 September: Daily livestream and interviews on Gordon Bennett TV.
  • 20 September: Welcome Back party
  • 21 September: Awards Ceremony

History

Newspaper tycoon James Gordon Bennett Jr. founded the International Herald Tribune and was a devotee of air sports, renowned for his generous sponsorship. With assistance from the FAI, Bennett organised the first-ever Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett in 1906 from Paris' Tuileries Gardens. A great success with 200,000 attendees, the FAI continued to uphold the annual race, with the trophy awarded in Gordon Bennett’s name. The event is also referred to as the FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship.