David N. Levin (June 10, 1948 – May 13, 2017) was an American

balloonist In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that ...

. He is the only balloonist to have completed the "triple crown" by winning the World Gas Balloon Championship, the

World Hot Air Ballooning Championships The World Hot Air Ballooning Championships are the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Hot Air Balloon Championship and the FAI Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship. These biennial events for hot air ballooning Hot air ...

and the Gordon Bennett Cup. In 1992, Levin also became the first balloonist to win ballooning's four major events, having won the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship along with the "triple crown".

Ballooning

In 1975, Levin made his first hot air balloon flight in a homemade balloon in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The following year, Levin and a childhood friend, Link Z. Baum, already an experienced balloonist, decided to move to Colorado and open America's first hot air ballooning resort, the ''Balloon Ranch''. Since then he has participated in numerous competitions and many World Championships. He became pilot of hot air balloons as well as of gas balloons. Since 2002 he participated in further competitions as a steward or hosted them as (Deputy) Event Director. One of his last activities had been his function as Deputy Event Director of the 3rd

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

(FAI) Women's European Hot Air Balloon Championship in September 2015. In 1985, Levin got his "first crown" by winning the FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

. Ten years later he became bronze medalist at the same place. In 1992, Levin won the FAI World Gas Balloon Championship in

Obertraun Obertraun, Upper Austria () is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria, near the Hallstätter See ( Hallstatt Lake) and Hoher Dachstein. It is a popular holiday destination with activities such as skiing and snowboarding in the win ...

(Austria) with Jim Schiller. With Mark Sullivan he got the silver and the bronze medals in 1996 and 2004, after winning bronze with Jacques Soukup in 1988. The aim of the Gordon Bennett Cup is "to fly the furthest distance from the launch site." With James Herschend Levin launched the balloon ''D-Aspen'' from

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, (Germany) on September 19, 1992, travelling , and landing near

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

45:36 hours later. Sixty years after the last first U.S. victory they had won the 36th edition of this ballooning competition and Levin added the third "crown" to his record. Twelve years later they had been succeeded by the American team Richard Abruzzo and

Carol Rymer Davis Carol Ann Rymer Davis (November 28, 1944 – c. September 29, 2010) was an American balloonist, and radiologist. In 2004, she was the first woman to win the Gordon Bennet Cup for ballooning with fellow crewman Richard Abruzzo. For this historic ...

, who disappeared in the 2010 competition. In 1987, 1988 and 1993 Levin won the U.S. Championships in gas ballooning and in 1996 and 2000 the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race. With his brother Alan, he made a non-stop balloon flight from Albuquerque in New Mexico to the coast of Maine travelling . Other notable flights had been the first balloon flight over

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, ...

in 1977 (14,400 feet) and a flight to altitude in a standard hot air balloon. David Levin was awarded the 1992 and 2010 Diploma Montgolfier for gas ballooning and major contribution to the sport of ballooning. He was inducted into the FAI hall of fame in 2015 and into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame of the

National Balloon Museum The National Balloon Museum is a non-profit museum in Indianola, Iowa. It was founded in 1975 in short term locations, later gaining a permanent location in 1988. All of the museum's exhibits are about hot air ballooning and gas ballooning. The ...

in July 2017.''CIA Inducted Members.''
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Biography

David Levin was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

on June 10, 1948, and grew up in

South Orange South Orange is a historic suburban village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, the village populatio ...

, where he attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. He graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, and with a JD in Law in 1975. He earned a master's in tax law in 1976. He was a private investor living in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. In Winter he served as teacher for adaptive skiing to people with various disabilities. He had been Board member of Ignite Adaptive Sports in Boulder and the Boulder Jewish Community Center. Levin died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

on May 13, 2017, in his home in Boulder, Colorado.

Family

Levin was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Martin a real estate developer and the former Jean Berman, a homemaker. He married Roberta Siegel. They had twins, Matthew and Rebecca.

Awards

* 1992 FAI ''Diplome Montgolfier'' for Gas Ballooning. * 1996 CIA Gold Sporting Badge with three diamonds. * 2009 BFA ''Shields-Trauger Award'' for service to the BFA. * 2010 FAI ''Diplome Montgolfier'' for major contribution to the sport of ballooning.

Events won

*1985

, Battle Creek, MI USA *1988 Trans-Australia Bicentennial Balloon Challenge *1989 U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship, Baton Rouge *1990 Canadian Open Championship, St. Jean sur Richelieu *1992 World Gas Balloon Championship, Obertraun, Austria *1992 Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett, Stuttgart, Germany *1994 BP Alpine Balloon Trophy, Zell am See, Austria *1996 & 2000 America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race, Albuquerque, NM *1987, 1989 & 1993 U.S. National Gas Balloon Championship.

Notes

References

''U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony''