Paul "Ed" Yost Dies
Posted by Slobokan @ 20:17 · 160 words · print
Paul "Ed" Yost, considered the father of modern hot-air ballooning for a successful three-mile trip on a propane-powered balloon, has died. He was 87.
Yost died Sunday at his home in New Mexico, according to a statement from his son.
According to the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa, Yost piloted the first flight of a balloon using the envelope-and-propane burner system he developed. The 25-minute, three-mile flight departed from Bruning, Neb., in October 1960.
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Yost helped found the Balloon Federation of America and helped organize the first U.S. National Ballooning Championship at Indianola. He was inducted into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame in 2004 and was awarded the Lipton Trophy by the British Balloon and Airship Club in 2006.
Yost also is known for other balloon trips. In April 1963, he and Don Piccard made the first hot air balloon flight across the English channel, flying from Rye in England to Gravelines Nord, France in three hours, 17 minutes.
Posted In: Obituaries
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