The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett Is The Oldest And Most Prestigious Event In Aviation
The international competition was initiated by adventurer and newspaper tycoon James Gordon Bennett Jr. in 1906, when 16 balloons launched from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France. Little did the crowd of 200,000 spectators know that this race was to continue into the 21st century. The goal is simple: to fly the furthest non-stop distance in a gas balloon from the launch site.