Ben Abruzzo
Ben Abruzzo
Born	June 9, 1930
Died	February 11, 1985
Occupation	balloonist

Benjamin L. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) "Ballooning" redirects here For the behavior of Spiders and other Arthropods see Ballooning (spider. Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American hot air balloonist and businessman. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) "Ballooning" redirects here For the behavior of Spiders and other Arthropods see Ballooning (spider. He helped place Albuquerque on the map as the balloon capital of the world.

Abruzzo was born in Rockford. Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1952, and then entered the United States Air Force. This article is about the flagship campus For other uses and locations of University of Illinois, see University of Illinois (disambiguation The University of After graduation, Abruzzo was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. For the civil airport use of this facility see Albuquerque International Sunport Kirtland Air Force Base is a major United States Air New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. He would adopt New Mexico as his home state after leaving military service in 1954.

Abruzzo took an interest in hot air ballooning. He was on the crew of the Double Eagle I in 1977. Double Eagle I was a Helium Balloon piloted by Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson in a failed attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in After the five deaths in the early 1970s, many believed the Dougle Eagle I would become the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, Abruzzo suffered exposure and frostbite while over Iceland and was forced to abandon the attempt. Frostbite ( congelatio in Medical terminology) is the Medical condition whereby damage is caused to Skin and other tissues Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (

The team, this time with Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman, made a second attempt in the Double Eagle II in 1978. Double Eagle II, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman became the first Balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean The team took off from Presque Isle, Maine on August 11 and made a successful landing in Miserey, France six days later. Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in the sparsely populated Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation For their efforts, the team was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1979. Not to be confused with the Medal of Honor, sometimes called the "Congressional Medal of Honor" which is the highest military decoration of the United States

Abruzzo was also on the Double Eagle V team. Double Eagle V, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, Ron Clark and Rocky Aoki, was the first Balloon to cross the Pacific Ocean The Double Eagle V was the first team to cross the Pacific Ocean in a gas balloon in November 1981. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions This flight also set a record for longest trip by a team in a balloon breaking.

Unfortunately, Abruzzo died a few years later when his private plane crashed near Albuquerque. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. His name lives on in the new Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque. The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum is a museum dedicated to the world-wide history science and art of all types of ballooning His son, Richard, is also a noted balloonist who continues to fly today.

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