双鹰二世Balloon Site

双鹰二世Balloon SiteWikimedia / CC BY-SA 2.5

On the morning of August11, 1978, a crowd of 8,000 people gathered in a potato field inMaine’sAroostook County. Over several hours, a pile of nylon was inflated with helium until the giant silver balloon took shape. Three men loaded supplies and foodstuffs—mostly hot dogs and sardines (allegedly)—into the gondola, unloaded their anchors, and were lifted off into thelate-summer sky. The next time they touched ground would be in a barley field just outside Paris, making their journey the first successful transatlantic balloon voyage. Today, a small roadside park featuring a steel replica of the famed balloon now sits at the site of its departure in Presque Isle.

While the双鹰二世’s flight was the first successful voyage of its kind, it was far from the first attempt. Transatlantic voyages became a fever dream for aviation adventurers as soon as human flight became possible. Between 1859 and 1978, over a dozen unsuccessful transatlantic balloon flights led to the deaths ofat least seven balloonists—some of whom were never found. In fact, Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson (two of the双鹰二世’s pilots) attempted to cross in 1977 but were stymied by foul weather and forced to abandon their gondola off the coast of Iceland. Abruzzo would spend monthsrecovering from frostbite.

The following year, with the addition of a third pilot—Larry Newman—the trio successfully traveled 3,200 miles over the course of 137 hoursto complete the voyage. After reaching英格兰, they made another ambitious choice to float to the commune of Le Bourget,France, where Charles Lindbergh had landed after crossing the Atlantic solo in 1927. French citizens on the ground chased the balloon down by car, clamoring to meet Abruzzo, Anderson, and Newman at their final landing spot to join film crews, photographers, and the pilots’ wives.

The land on which the双鹰二世Balloon Site park sits was donated by the potato farmer who rented the pilots space for that fateful day in 1978. A steel and tin replica of the双鹰二世rests atop a commemorative brick foundation flanked by two flag poles, which typically fly both French and U.S. flags.The gondola itselfis on display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar at theSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Centerin Chantilly, Virginia.

Aside from the groundbreaking nature of its voyage, the双鹰二世举行的时间记录在一个气球在空中。The record wasn’t broken until 2015 after a crew soared for 160 hours over the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Mexico’s Baja coast. In honor of the trio that lifted off a potato farm in northern Maine, the Baja-bound balloonwas namedTwo Eagles.

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