Mon, May 23, 2011
We're still enjoying the aftermath of an amazing week that the
ANN and Aero-TV crews spent, last fall, enjoying the grandeur and
precision of a sport that much of aviation knows so little about.
And... as amazing as we found the sport of hot-air and gas
ballooning to be, we became even more impressed with the folks that
populate this truly lofty activity.
One of those amazing folks is Jacques Soukup, whose passion for
recovering and recording the wondrous history of the sport knows
few limits. According to Balloon Life, Jacques started ballooning
in hot air balloons in 1979 and received his gas balloon rating in
1983. He has extensive international ballooning experience with
thousands of hours in hot air, gas and Roziere balloons. Along with
his partner, Kirk S. Thomas, Jacques was a pioneer in the
development and popularization of special shaped balloons, such as
the heads of Uncle Sam and Carmen Miranda.
Jacques has served as the President of the Balloon Federation of
America, and the President of the Ballooning Commission of the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. In
1985, Jacques and co-pilot Don Cameron established eight world
records in Roziere balloons, and followed that, in 1987, by adding
eight additional altitude records in that balloon, raising his
world records to a total of 16. Soukup and Thomas founded the
Soukup & Thomas International Balloon & Airship Museum.
That collection is the source for many of the wonders seen at
the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. The
Soukup & Thomas Collection, donated to the museum by the City
of Mitchell, South Dakota, adds incredible depth to an already
impressive collection.
The museum's archival holdings contain historic documents,
first-hand accounts of the intrepid voyages of balloonists of the
past, rare books and other rich artifacts. Join Aero-TV for an
illuminating chat with one of the ballooning world's foremost
patrons...
More News
Runway Lead-in Light System Runway Lead-in Light System Consists of one or more series of flashing lights installed at or near ground level that provides positive visual guidance a>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Without Borders Aviation Without Borders uses its aviation expertise, contacts and partnerships to enable support for children and their families – at hom>[...]
Dave Juwel's Aviation Marketing Stories ITBOA BNITBOB ... what does that mean? It's not gibberish, it's a lengthy acronym for "In The Business Of Aviation ... But Not In The Busine>[...]
From 2010 (YouTube Version): Yeah.... This IS A Really Cool Job When ANN's Nathan Cremisino took over the lead of our Aero-TV teams, he knew he was in for some extra work and a lot>[...]
Also: Junkers A50 Heritage, Montaer Grows, Dynon-Advance Flight Systems, Vans' Latest Officially, the Carbon Cub UL and Rotax 916 iS is now in its 'market survey development phase'>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.24.24): Runway Lead-in Light System
See All