Brian Jones (aeronaut)

For other people named Brian Jones, see Brian Jones (disambiguation).

Brian Jones in 1999

Brian George Jones OBE (born 27 March 1947) is an English balloonist.

Brian Jones, along with Bertrand Piccard, co-piloted the first successful uninterrupted circumnavigation of the world on board a balloon, the Breitling Orbiter 3. They set off on 1 March 1999 from Château d'Oex in Switzerland and landed in Egypt after a 45,755-kilometre (28,431-mile) flight lasting 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes.[1] For this achievement, he received awards including the Harmon Trophy, the Hubbard Medal, the FAI Gold Air Medal, the Charles Green Salver, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement,[2] and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for services to ballooning.[3]

Still active in ballooning records, In November 2010 Jones piloted the Esprit Breitling Orbiter as a launch platform for Yves Rossy. Rossy made the first successful attempt to perform loops using a jet-powered flying-wing backpack.[4]

Jones was born in Bristol, England, and grew up in Knowle, Bristol.[5] He served for 13 years in the Royal Air Force.[6] He is married to Joanna, a balloonist, and has two children.[6]

  1. ^ "Higher, Farther, and Longer – Record Balloon Flights in the Second Part of the Twentieth Century". U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Archived from the original on 30 April 2003. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  3. ^ "No. 55513". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1999. p. 11.
  4. ^ "Jetman". Sport Aviation. March 2011.
  5. ^ "Bristol Balloon Fiesta round-up". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 10 August 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Why Brian Jones?". New York Times. 21 March 1999. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2012.