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Note: The following is an introduction to the Fairbanks family ballooning web site. The photographs bring forth memories of adventure and friendship to all who knew Tony Fairbanks. Please read and enjoy and continue to check back with us as we add more historical data.
The year was 1931. Herbert Hoover was the president of the United States. It seems so long ago. In 1931, Tony Fairbanks, a young aeronautical engineer living in Cleveland, Ohio, was invited to climb into a wicker basket and fly into the sky in a balloon filled with flammable gas. It was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with flying gas and later hot air balloons. Tony Fairbanks was to become the first civilian designated balloon pilot examiner in the United States. He was to pilot the La Coquette balloon which was the star of the 1955 academy award movie “Around the World in 80 days.” He was to fly over the Swiss Alpine Mountains seven times in the Fred Dolder High Alpine Ballooning Week. And most importantly, Tony Fairbanks became a teacher and mentor to uncounted men and women who felt the urge to become pilots and crew with the fascination of flight into the sky in a wicker basket. The Tony Fairbanks web site is dedicated to the men and women who owe their love of the sport to the influence of Tony Fairbanks. Read more about Tony on his Biography page.
