CELEBRATING 50 YEARS The Making of the America's Challenge BY MARK SULLIVAN The world’s gas balloonists have two opportunities each year to “go the distance” in gas ballooning competition in large part because American competitor Mark Sullivan saw the potential for hold- ing an annual race in the United States. He has competed in more gas balloon distance competi- tions than any balloonist in history (46 so far). With his fl ying partner Cheri White, he is a two-time America’s Challenge champion and has fi nished as high as second in the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the gas ballooning world distance championships. Mark has competed in more gas balloon distance competitions than any balloonist in history (46 so far). With his fl ying partner Cheri White, Mark is a two-time America’s Challenge champion and has fi nished as high as second in the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the gas ballooning world distance championships. Learn more about Mark on the America’s Challenge page on the Balloon Fiesta website. In the mid-1980s, gas ballooning at events in the helium today it would cost $15,000.00 and hydrogen United States was much diff erent than what we see at now costs $3,500.00 per fi ll. the America’s Challenge. Gas balloon races around the Up until hydrogen was introduced as a lifting gas at country always consisted of races to a target, which the 2000 America’s Challenge, helium was the gas used could be intersections of two roads, or runways of minor in all gas balloon competitions in the United States. In airports that pilots had to navigate to. Pilots who scored Europe, balloonists have used hydrogen for decades. the highest would qualify for the World Gas Balloon If you go back to the very early Gordon Bennett races Championship and the Gordon Bennett. starting in 1906, they used coal gas. Most gas competitions were short races compared to To justify my expensive hobby, I always divided the the huge distances fl own at America’s Challenge and the hours fl own by the cost of the fl ight. So if you fl ew long modern Gordon Bennett. Most fl ights would take off in enough the cost would work out about the same per the afternoon and the balloons would land the next day. hour as a hot air fl ight. Anyway, this thought process I never liked defl ating after such short fl ights, especially helped ease the painfully high cost of fl ying gas balloons! when a “fi ll” of helium cost around $1,500.00 or about The modern Gordon Bennett started back up in $4,000.00 in today’s dollars. If you could get a fi ll of 1983, and from 1983 through 1994 only 28 fl ights went Opposite:Teams prepare to race to a target in the fi rst gas ballooning competition held at Balloon Fiesta (1981) ® 184 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta