The Gordon BENNETT Cup

Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett is the oldest and most prestigious event in aviation and the ultimate challenge for balloon pilots and their equipment.

This international competition was initiated by the adventurer and newspaper tycoon James Gordon Bennett Jr. in 1906, when 16 balloons launched from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. Little did the crowd of 200,000 spectators know this race would continue throughout the 20th century and beyond….

The rules are simple and unchanged since 1906. All the balloons are of the same size and lift. They take off within a short „launch window” from the same launch site. The goal is to fly the furthest non-stop distance measured in straight line from the launch site. Landing on water is not permitted. This year the air space of all European countries is open to the pilots with the exception of Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Malta and Iceland. Each team consists of two pilots. Pilots are airborne for up to three days and nights in an open basket, carried by the gas balloon and steered only by the winds in different altitudes. Ground crew (strategists, meteorologists, ATC specialists) help pilots to make the right decisions. . Up to three teams per nation can enter the event. The nation that wins the race will host the event two years later. Thanks to the latest technology it is possible to follow the race in real-time (position, direction, speed, leader board).

Poland won the Gordon Bennett Cup six times, in 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1983 and most recently in 2018. The names of the victorious pilots: Franciszek Hynek, Zbigniew Burzynski, Wladyslaw Pomaski, Wladyslaw Wysocki, Antoni Janusz, Franciszek Janik, Stefan Makne i Ireneusz Cieslak have been cast in stone in the history of aviation. In the past Poland had the privilege to be the host and the organizer of the event three times. Unfortunately in 1939 the start from Lvov had to be called off due to the outbreak of the WW2 and in 1983 most complex political situation caused the organization and the launch site to be moved to Switzerland and postponed until 1984. Following the most recent victory of the Polish pilots Mateusz Rękas and Jacek Bogdański, who won the race in 2018, the organization of the 2020 event was assigned to Poland. Due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic the launch of the race had to be postponed until August 2021 and the venue changed from Wroclaw to Torun.