Gordon Bennett race balloons fly over southeastern North Carolina

COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Two balloons flew near southeastern North Carolina in the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett long-distance gas balloon championship on Oct. 11.

The GER-1 balloon landed near the Brunswick and Columbus Co. line at about 12 p.m., and as of 12:33 p.m. the FRA-2 balloon is over Jacksonville.

The race began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a launch window starting on the latter half of the day on Oct. 7.

Newspaper tycoon and adventurer James Gordon Bennett Jr. started the competition in 1906 with 16 balloons from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France.

You see where each of the balloons ended up on the race website.