First Travel in Aviation : Lighter than air  – Airship –  Balloon Flight :  During 1900 – 2023

Airship –  Balloon Flight

• First helium-filled rigid airship to fly: was the USS Shenandoah on August 20, 1923, although it did not make a powered flight until September 24, 1923.
• First people to reach the stratosphere: were Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer, who ascended to the height of 51,000 ft (15,500 m) in a hydrogen balloon on May 27, 1931
• First crossing of the Atlantic by balloon: was made by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman in the helium-filled Double Eagle II, on August 17, 1978.
• First non-stop balloon crossing of North America: Maxie and Kris Anderson in the helium-filled Kitty Hawk, on May 12, 1980.
• First trans-Pacific crossing by balloon: Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, Ron Clark and Rocky Aoki, in gas-filled Double Eagle V, in November 1981.
• First balloon flight on another planet: was conducted by the Soviet Vega 1 Balloon in the skies above Venus between June 11, 1985 and June 13, 1985
• First non-stop balloon circumnavigation of the Earth: was made by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones who flew from Château d’Oex, Switzerland, to Egypt, on Breitling Orbiter 3, between March 1 and March 21, 1999, in 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes.
• First solo non-stop balloon flight around the Earth: Steve Fossett, in the Spirit of Freedom, circumnavigated the globe between June 19 and July 3, 2002