First non-stop trans-North American balloon flight
On 12th May in 1980. Maxie Anderson and his son Kristian, made the first non-stop trans-North American balloon flight. The flight departed Fort Baker in California near The Golden Gate Bridge on May 8th, and landed in Quebec on 12th May. The balloon landed in a meadow in a pine forest in the picturesque region of Canada. The flight was 2,800 miles, and the pilots took along a range of foods, including jelly sandwiches, potatoes and soup! The helium balloon was 75 feet tall, and even had a camping stove.
According to a news report from 1980, Maxie Anderson, was an experienced balloon pilot, who outmaneuvered thunderstorms in the Rocky Mountain states by flying over one dangerous weather system and outrunning others.
Check out another News in History story, from 1797, where the first parachute jump was from a hot air balloon!
