 Scaife in Leszno, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 1984/1985(age 36–37) [1] Albury, New South Wales, Australia [2] | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Nicola Scaife (born 1984 or 1985) is an Australian hot air balloonist. [1] She has won the FAI Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship twice, in 2014 and 2016. [2]
Scaife was born and raised in Albury, New South Wales, Australia. [2] As a teenager, Scaife represented Australia in marathon kayaking as a teenager, however she was forced to retire due to injury. She went on a hot air balloon flight with her mother and became interested in the industry - she started working for a hot air balloon company, initially in administration and support roles, and then began flying in 2006. [3] In 2007 she earnt her private Pilot’s Certificate and later moved on to become a Commercial Pilot.
Her first competition ballooning event was in 2013 in Canowindra, New South Wales. In 2014 Scaife won the first women's world championship event in Leszno, Poland, in what was only her fourth competitive event. [1] In July 2016 she successfully defended her title at the 2nd FAI Women’s World Hot Air Balloon Championship in Birstonas, Lithuania. [2] In 2018 Scaife won bronze at 3rd FAI Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship in Nałęczów, Poland.
Scaife and her husband run a hot air ballooning company in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. [1]
The Gordon Bennett Cup is the world's oldest gas balloon race, and is "regarded as the premier event of world balloon racing" according to the Los Angeles Times. Referred to as the "Blue Ribbon" of aeronautics, the first race started from Paris, France, on September 30, 1906. The event was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett Jr., the millionaire sportsman and owner of the New York Herald newspaper. According to the organizers, the aim of the contest "is simple: to fly the furthest distance from the launch site." The contest ran from 1906 to 1938, interrupted by World War I and in 1931, but was suspended in 1939 when the hosts, Poland, were invaded at the start of World War II. The event was not resurrected until 1979, when American Tom Heinsheimer, an atmospheric physicist, gained permission from the holders to host the trophy. The competition was not officially reinstated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) until 1983.
In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that can propel itself through the air in a controlled manner.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October, and has over 500 hot air balloons each year far from its humble beginnings of merely 13 balloons in 1972. The event is the largest balloon festival in the world, followed by the Grand Est Mondial Air in France.
Donald Louis Piccard was a Swiss-born American balloon pioneer, promoter, innovator, designer, builder, and pilot.
Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet, the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view. Since the balloon moves with the direction of the winds, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed. Hot air ballooning has been recognized by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) as the safest air sport in aviation, and fatalities in hot air balloon accidents are rare, according to statistics from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The Saga International Balloon Fiesta is held at the beginning of November every year in Saga Prefecture, Japan. In 2014 it took place between October 30 and November 3.
The European Hot Air Balloon Championships are the FAI European Hot Air Balloon Championship and the FAI Women's European Hot Air Balloon Championship. These biennial events for hot air ballooning are conducted under the direction of the FAI Ballooning Commission.
The World Hot Air Ballooning Championships are the FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship and the FAI Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship. These biennial events for hot air ballooning are conducted under the direction of the FAI Ballooning Commission.
Agnė Simonavičiūtė is a Lithuanian female balloonist and FAI women's vice world champion.
Daiva Rakauskaitė is a Lithuanian female balloonist.
2014 Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championships was 1st edition of World Hot Air Ballooning Championships for women held in Leszno, Poland from September 8 to September 13, 2014. Total of 16 tasks were held.
Beata Choma is a Polish ballooning athlete.
David N. Levin was an American balloonist. He is the only balloonist to have completed the "triple crown" by winning the World Gas Balloon Championship, the World Hot Air Ballooning Championships and the Gordon Bennett Cup. In 1992, Levin also became the first balloonist to win ballooning's four major events, having won the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship along with the "triple crown".
3rd FAI Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship was 3rd edition of World Hot Air Ballooning Championships for women held in Nałęczów, Poland from August 6 to August 11, 2018. Total of 14 tasks were held. Five flights were cancelled due to the weather conditions from August 9 to August 11.
Lindsay Muir is a British female balloonist and FAI world record holder, who became European champion in 2012.
Gabriela Slavec is a Slovenian female ballooning athlete, who became European Champion in 2010.
Dr Janet Folkes was an academic from Nottingham, who held multiple ballooning records. She died in 2012 from cancer.
Vera Simons (1920–2012) was an inventor, artist, and balloonist. She became known in the 1950s and 1960s as a leader in high altitude gas balloon development and exploration, belonging to a group of pioneers known as the "Pre-Astronauts."
Eleanor Vadala is an American chemist, materials engineer and balloonist. She became director of research and development at the Naval Air Development Center in Pennsylvania, where she helped to develop light synthetic materials for use in aircraft. One of her jobs was the testing of fabric in existing balloons to ensure they could be used safely.
The Balloon Federation of America (BFA) is a 501c3 non-profit group for the advancement of lighter-than-air aviation which includes hot air and gas balloons. Founded in 1960, located in Indianola, Iowa. The BFA partners with the National Balloon Museum to induct outstanding individuals into the United States Ballooning Hall of Fame. The Federation presents multiple awards including the Ed Yost Master Pilot Award and the National Crew Person Award. The BFA facilitates balloon events by providing advice and guidance on FAA compliance.
The 29-year-old
