Maxie Anderson
Encyclopedia
Max Leroy Anderson was an American
hot air balloonist
and businessman. He helped place Albuquerque
on the map as the balloon capital of the world. He was responsible for the first nonstop balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean
and of the United States
.
to rancher and mining industry executive Carl Anderson, who died at the age of 90 in 2001. He entered the Missouri Military Academy
at the age of eight, and throughout his school years assisted his father in building pipelines. He engaged in prospecting in the Arctic Circle
before completing his degree in Industrial Engineering at the University of North Dakota
in 1956. He developed an early interest in flight, obtaining a pilot’s license at the age of fifteen (having misrepresented his age). This allowed him to fly a plane to the academy at age 15, while cars were banned except for those aged 18. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, he entered the mining industry, acquiring his own company, Ranchers Exploration and Development Corporation, before he was thirty. His career was marked by innovations in extraction technologies, delivery systems, and administrative practices. For his work in the field, he was inducted into National Mining Hall of Fame
, he became interested in hot air ballooning. The two hatched a plan to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh
’s flight, and engaged balloonist Ed Yost
(whose transatlantic bid had failed in 1958) to build the Double Eagle.
The balloon was launched near Marshfield, Massachusetts
on September 9, 1977, but the flight was aborted off the coast of Iceland
on September 13. In 1978 Larry Newman, a manufacturer of hang gliders, was added to the crew for the next attempt in the Double Eagle II
. This venture was launched August 11 at Presque Isle, Maine
, and arrived at Miserey
, France
, on August 17. For their efforts, the team was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1979. It was both a distance record (3108 miles) and a duration record (137 hours) for the sport.
With his son Kristian Anderson made the first non-stop trans-North American balloon flight. The Kitty Hawk departed Fort Baker
, California
May 8, 1980, and landed on May 12 at Sainte-Félicité, Quebec
.
Anderson next set his sights on a circumnavigation of the globe. With Don Ida he launched the balloon Jules Verne from Luxor
, Egypt
on January 11, 1981, travelling 4316 kilometres (2,681.8 mi), and landing in Hansa
India 48 hours later
, West Germany
. With co-pilot Don Ida, and in fear of straying across the border of East Germany or Czechoslovakia
, Anderson attempted to release the gondola from the envelope at touchdown. The bolts failed to fire, and a gust re-lofted the vehicle, whereupon the explosive bolts deployed, and both Anderson and Ida were killed in the fall. The locale of the accident is also given as “near the village of Schönderling in the county of Bad Kissingen” in a history of the Gordon Bennett Cup balloon race, in which they were participating as non-competitors at the time.
With his wife Patty, Anderson founded the Anderson Valley Vineyards in 1973. “We have a lot of balloon-themed wines and items," wine expert Angela Le Quieu says. She adds that the label for the winery's Balloon Blush wine always uses a picture from the previous year's Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
His name lives on in the new Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
http://www.balloonmuseum.com/ in Albuquerque, and in the Maxie Anderson Award, for an Albuquerque “business owner who has demonstrated excellence in business success; reputation; community involvement and leadership; and humanity and humor.”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hot air balloonist
Balloon (aircraft)
A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
and businessman. He helped place Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
on the map as the balloon capital of the world. He was responsible for the first nonstop balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Biography
Anderson was born in Sayre, OklahomaSayre, Oklahoma
Sayre is a city in and the county seat of Beckham County, in Western Oklahoma, the United States. It is half-way between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Amarillo, Texas on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 census....
to rancher and mining industry executive Carl Anderson, who died at the age of 90 in 2001. He entered the Missouri Military Academy
Missouri Military Academy
The Missouri Military Academy is an all-boy college prep military school in the United States. The Academy is mainly a boarding school but also offers a day program, a summer school and a summer leadership camp...
at the age of eight, and throughout his school years assisted his father in building pipelines. He engaged in prospecting in the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
before completing his degree in Industrial Engineering at the University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
in 1956. He developed an early interest in flight, obtaining a pilot’s license at the age of fifteen (having misrepresented his age). This allowed him to fly a plane to the academy at age 15, while cars were banned except for those aged 18. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, he entered the mining industry, acquiring his own company, Ranchers Exploration and Development Corporation, before he was thirty. His career was marked by innovations in extraction technologies, delivery systems, and administrative practices. For his work in the field, he was inducted into National Mining Hall of Fame
Balloonist
Along with his friend Ben AbruzzoBen Abruzzo
Benjamin L. Abruzzo was an American hot air balloonist and businessman. He helped increase the reputation of Albuquerque as a center of lighter-than-air and hot-air ballooning.-Biography:...
, he became interested in hot air ballooning. The two hatched a plan to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
’s flight, and engaged balloonist Ed Yost
Ed Yost
Paul Edward Yost was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." He worked for a high altitude research division of General Mills when he helped establish Raven Industries in 1956.-Inventor:Born on a farm 7 miles...
(whose transatlantic bid had failed in 1958) to build the Double Eagle.
The balloon was launched near Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,132 at the 2010 census.See also: Green Harbor, Marshfield , Rexhame, Marshfield Hills, and Ocean Bluff and Brant Rock....
on September 9, 1977, but the flight was aborted off the coast of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
on September 13. In 1978 Larry Newman, a manufacturer of hang gliders, was added to the crew for the next attempt in the Double Eagle II
Double Eagle II
Double Eagle II, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, became the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours 6 minutes after leaving Presque Isle, Maine....
. This venture was launched August 11 at Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in the sparsely populated Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,692 at the 2010 census...
, and arrived at Miserey
Miserey
Miserey is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on August 17. For their efforts, the team was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1979. It was both a distance record (3108 miles) and a duration record (137 hours) for the sport.
With his son Kristian Anderson made the first non-stop trans-North American balloon flight. The Kitty Hawk departed Fort Baker
Fort Baker
Fort Baker is one of the components of California's Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Fort, which borders the City of Sausalito in Marin County and is connected to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge, served as an Army post until the mid-1990s, when the headquarters of the 91st Division...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
May 8, 1980, and landed on May 12 at Sainte-Félicité, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
Anderson next set his sights on a circumnavigation of the globe. With Don Ida he launched the balloon Jules Verne from Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on January 11, 1981, travelling 4316 kilometres (2,681.8 mi), and landing in Hansa
Hansa
The Hanseatic League, known as Hansa or Hanse in various Germanic languages, was a 13th–17th century alliance of European trading cities...
India 48 hours later
Death and legacy
Anderson was killed on June 27, 1983, near Bad BrückenauBad Brückenau
Bad Brückenau is a spa town in Bad Kissingen district in northern Bavaria. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 30 kilometers south of Fulda.-Geography:Bad Brückenau is located in the valley of the River Sinn, in the western part of the Rhön Mountains...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. With co-pilot Don Ida, and in fear of straying across the border of East Germany or Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Anderson attempted to release the gondola from the envelope at touchdown. The bolts failed to fire, and a gust re-lofted the vehicle, whereupon the explosive bolts deployed, and both Anderson and Ida were killed in the fall. The locale of the accident is also given as “near the village of Schönderling in the county of Bad Kissingen” in a history of the Gordon Bennett Cup balloon race, in which they were participating as non-competitors at the time.
With his wife Patty, Anderson founded the Anderson Valley Vineyards in 1973. “We have a lot of balloon-themed wines and items," wine expert Angela Le Quieu says. She adds that the label for the winery's Balloon Blush wine always uses a picture from the previous year's Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
His name lives on in the new Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum is a museum dedicated to the worldwide history, science, and art of all types of ballooning and lighter-than-air flight...
http://www.balloonmuseum.com/ in Albuquerque, and in the Maxie Anderson Award, for an Albuquerque “business owner who has demonstrated excellence in business success; reputation; community involvement and leadership; and humanity and humor.”