EAA Founder Paul Poberezny, Joe Kittinger and EAA President Rod Hightower
OSHKOSH, WIS. – Joe Kittinger, who jumped from a hot air balloon (Excelsior III) from 102,800 feet (31,300 m) on August 16, 1960 and lived to tell about it, was the featured speaker at the annual Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet, December 17, 2010, at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis. The banquet marked the 107th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
Towing a small drogue parachute for initial stabilization, Kittinger fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h) before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Pressurization for his right glove malfunctioned during the ascent, and his right hand swelled up to twice its normal size. Kittinger said at the banquet that he did not report the malfunction when it occurred for fear officials would cancel the attempt. Kittinger set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall, and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere, breaking the sound barrier. These are still current U.S. Air Force records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Kittinger is currently working with the “Red Bull Stratos Science Team,” which is trying to break his freefall marks with a jump from 120,000 feet.
The emcee for the evening was EAA President Rod Hightower, who with EAA Founder Paul Poberezny and Joe Kittinger, ended the program with a traditional toast to Orville and Wilbur Wright.
A number of EAA chapters reserved tables, as did Midwest Flyer Magazine. Chapters make the banquet an annual gathering for members, as do participants of the “Midwest Flyer Canadian Fishing Fly-Out” who came from as far away as Iowa to attend the banquet.
