Ballongondel
Einsitzer-Ballongondel von Kurt Rünzi
Dating
1969Persons
Description
Einsitzer-Gondel von einem der ersten modernen zertifizierten Heissluftballone der Welt (1969).Object type
Object (three-dimensional)Material / Technique
Metall, KunststoffDimensions
77 x 58 x 200 cmInventory number
VHS-9147Legend
Single-seater balloon gondola by Kurt Rünzi, Switzerland 1969
Hot seat
Kurt Rünzi, from Zumikon, Canton Zurich is considered the pioneer of modern hot air ballooning. He caught the hot air ballooning bug during the sport’s renaissance in the USA in the 1960s; although invented in 1783, hot air ballooning had been almost totally eclipsed by the gas balloon.
As an experienced gas balloon pilot, Rünzi helped the Americans improve the construction and handling of their experimental hot air balloons and in 1966 brought the first one back to Switzerland. It met with considerable resistance from the authorities and the gas balloon scene, and it was only in 1969 with his second balloon, which had meanwhile been certified in the USA, that he received the go-ahead from the Swiss authorities, whereupon it was given the same registration as his first experimental balloon, HB-BOG (“Ballon ohne Gas”, balloon without gas).
Instead of a basket, the balloon was equipped with the aluminium tubing on display with its single seat. Below it were two bottles of liquid propane with a copper tube leading to the overhead burner.
Technical data
Main colour
rot / grauNumber of crew
1Number of passengers
0Type of propulsion
WindantriebSystematics
• Parts and equipment
• Balloon
Literature
Abenteuer Heissluftballon. Entwicklung - Experimente - Rekorde, Autor/in: Rünzi, Kurt, S., Abb.: 47-53, Sign.: LFB 8
Vor 50 Jahren begann der Aufstieg der Heissluftballone. Ballonpionier Kurt Rünzi, Autor/in: Wyss, Jürg, Sign.: ZL 2
Kurt Rünzi ist zu seiner letzten Fahrt aufgebrochen, Autor/in: Wyss, Jürg, Sign.: ZL 2