Benjamin L. Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, into an international ballooning center. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first Atlantic Ocean crossing by balloon in the

Double Eagle II ''Double Eagle II'', piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman (aviator), Larry Newman, became the first balloon to Transatlantic flight, cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed on 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours a ...

and the first Pacific Ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle V. DoubleEagleIIPresqueIsleMaine

Life

Abruzzo was born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

. He graduated from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

with a BS in business administration in 1952 and commissioned as a lieutenant in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Abruzzo was stationed at

Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator C ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

; adopting New Mexico as his home state after leaving military service in 1954. After working at Sandia Corporation, he became chairman and president of Alvarado Realty Company and started working with the local ski resort. Abruzzo became chairman and president of Sandia Peak Ski Company, Sandia Peak Tram Company, and Sandia Peak Utility Company. He also developed the Sandia Heights subdivision of homes around the base of the Sandia Tram.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Abruzzo took an interest in hot air ballooning in the early 1970s. In 1972, Abruzzo and other local balloon pilots held the first Albuquerque balloon fiesta with just thirteen balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is now the largest ballooning event of its kind in the world, with over 600 balloons participating each October.

Double Eagle

In 1977 Abruzzo and fellow balloonist Maxie Anderson decided to attempt a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a helium filled gas balloon named the '' Double Eagle''. The balloon was named in honor of Charles Lindbergh, who in 1927 was the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a small single engined aircraft alone. The flight of the '' Double Eagle'' occurred fifty years after Lindbergh's feat, and was the eleventh recorded attempt to make the crossing, which had been an open challenge in ballooning for more than a century. The balloon launched from Marshfield, Massachusetts on September 9. After being blown off course by stormy weather, the team was forced to ditch three miles off the coast of Iceland on September 12, hours after taking off. Abruzzo suffered exposure and

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

during the flight and was forced to abandon the attempt.

Double Eagle II

The Abruzzo and Anderson team, this time with Larry Newman, made a second attempt in the ''

'' in 1978. The team took off from

Presque Isle, Maine Presque Isle ( ) is the commercial center and largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,797 at the 2020 Census. The city is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College, ...

on August 11 and made a successful landing in Miserey, France six days later. ABC Sports aired a short form documentary special about the flight hosted by Bob Beatty entitled "The Spirit of '78: The Flight of DOUBLE EAGLE II". For their efforts, the team was awarded the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

in 1979. Later that year, Abruzzo and Anderson piloted together to win the first since

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

International Gordon Bennett Race in the balloon "Double Eagle III". The Bennett race was suspended in 1939 due to hostilities, not resuming until 1979, with official Gordon Bennett Cup (ballooning) restart in 1983.

Double Eagle V

Abruzzo was also on the '' Double Eagle V'' team. The '' Double Eagle V'' was the first team to cross the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

in a gas balloon in November 1981. This flight also set a record for longest trip by a team in a balloon.

Death and legacy

Ben Abruzzo died on 11 February 1985 when the

Cessna 421 The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411. Development The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 1967 ...

he was piloting crashed near Albuquerque. Abruzzo's wife and four others also died in the crash. Abruzzo's son, Richard Abruzzo, was also a noted balloonist. He too died in an aviation accident. Creating a foundation, the Abruzzo and Anderson families partnered with the City of Albuquerque and constructed the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum next to the launch field of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The World's most photographed event, Fiesta is held the second week of every October. Abruzzo had partnered with Robert Nordhaus, a retired lawyer and father of Nobel Prize-winning economist

William Nordhaus William Dawbney Nordhaus (born May 31, 1941) is an American economist. He was a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change, and a co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Memorial ...

, to purchase the La Madera Ski Area, now known as

Sandia Peak Ski Area Sandia Peak Ski Area, originally La Madera Ski Area, is a ski resort located in the Sandia Mountains in northeast Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, immediately northeast of the city of Albuquerque. It is part of a Special Use Permit Z ...

, from the Albuquerque Ski Club in 1958. Together, they oversaw many improvements to the resort. Two entities at the resort are named for his famous balloon: a ski run, ''Double Eagle II''; and the

ski lodge A ski lodge or day lodge is a building located in a ski resort, ski area that provides amenities such as food, beverages, seating area, restrooms, and locker rooms for skiers and snowboarders. Larger resorts have a day lodge at each base area and ...

, Double Eagle II Day Lodge.

References

External links

{{commons category, Ben Abruzzo 1930 births 1985 deaths Accidental deaths in New Mexico Aviators from Illinois Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States American balloonists Congressional Gold Medal recipients Gies College of Business alumni People from Rockford, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Businesspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico United States Air Force officers Balloon flight record holders American aviation record holders Transatlantic flight 20th-century American businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1985