CELEBRATING 50 YEARS Epic Flights for the Record Books BY MARK SULLIVAN n a hot August Double Eagle II transatlantic fl ight only weekend morning in enhanced Albuquerque’s reputation 1978, a small plane as ballooning’s Mecca. In a world landed at Albuquerque starved for good news, the arrival of International Airport. the balloon and its pilots, Ben Abruzzo, An enthusiastic posse Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, O of friends and family and a phalanx of in France was the lead story on all the reporters stood on the tarmac – you national newscasts and made the covers could do that back then -- ready to greet of the major news magazines. Their Sid Cutter, the newly-crowned National Albuquerque connection didn’t escape Hot Air Balloon Champion. notice. For their coverage, one of the TV At the same moment, three stations tracked down Sid Cutter and his businessmen from Albuquerque huddled colleague, the world hot-air champion in a homebuilt fi berglass gondola Paul Woessner, at the airport. Sid’s underneath a gigantic silver and black comment? “Maybe they’ll fi gure out gas balloon. In just a few days, they would that New Mexico is actually in the Union.” make history and become international Abruzzo and Anderson – fl ying heroes, the fi rst pilots to successfully together and separately – are still two cross the Atlantic Ocean by balloon, setting several world of the most renowned of Albuquerque’s great ballooning records in the process. Their attempt succeeded where adventurers. They almost died in an epic storm during more than a dozen had failed, with fi ve people dying in their fi rst attempt to cross the Atlantic, in 1977, before the attempt. fi nally making it to Europe the next year. Both went It was one of the headiest, most historic weeks in on to achieve other great fi rsts: Anderson, with his son the history of ballooning, and Albuquerque was right Kris, completed the fi rst non-stop transcontinental at the center of it. The Albuquerque International balloon fl ight, and Abruzzo, with Newman, Ron Clark, Balloon Fiesta –only in its seventh year – even then was and Rocky Aoki, were the fi rst persons to cross the the town square of world ballooning, getting national Pacifi c by balloon. Anderson made the fi rst serious media coverage and attracting tens of thousands of attempts to fl y non-stop around the world, but the visitors each year. No wonder the Duke City was rapidly technology at the time was not far enough advanced to becoming known as the “Balloon Capital of the World.” support his ambition and dreams. Both Anderson and The media frenzy surrounding the success of the Abruzzo were to die in separate aviation accidents in Above:Double Eagle II over the Atlantic. Photo courtesy of the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum ® 188 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta