EARTHWINDS HILTON RTW gondola (RUTAN Model 181)
Rutan and Scaled's first involvement in ballooning was far from successful, but it taught some lessons.


Type: pressurized gondola to compete in world balloon flight

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Significant date: 1991

Attempts to circle the earth in a balloon were made by the Earthwinds Hilton team headed by Larry Newman. Attempts beginning in November 1991 and concluding in December 1994 were all unsuccessful. Earthwinds Hilton employed an ingenious system designed to use compressed air in an anchor balloon suspended below the gondola to eliminate the need for ballast.

Earthwinds' Larry Newman decided to change equipment, but he also lost his main sponsor, Hilton Hotels. To add to his troubles Newman nearly lost his life in a parachute accident that kept him in the hospital for a long time. This mared the end of the Earthwinds story.


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