Tony Fairbanks

Tony Fairbanks is a historical website dedicated to the life and legacy of pioneering balloonist Tony Fairbanks and the people who shared his passion for flight. Its material traces Fairbanks’s ballooning career, which began in 1931 when the young aeronautical engineer flew in a gas balloon in Cleveland, Ohio. He later became the first civilian designated balloon pilot examiner in the United States, piloted La Coquette in the 1955 film Around the World in 80 Days, and took part in seven high-altitude ballooning flights over the Swiss Alps.

The site is an archive rather than a commercial brand, bringing together biographies, photographs, log books, recordings, articles, scrapbooks, historical documents, and accounts of flights and ballooning events. Visitors can explore the Cleveland Balloon Club, the Balloon Club of America, gas and hot-air ballooning, Fairbanks’s Alpine adventures, and related aviation interests, including fixed-wing aircraft and gliders. It also preserves stories and resources about fellow balloonists, aviation organizations, and the friendships formed through the sport.