Lindstrand's aeronautical career began in the Swedish Air Force where he was an Engineering Officer. His first balloon flight in the early 1970s was the result of a bet. He built a makeshift balloon and successfully flew it across the runway while in the Swedish Air Force to claim victory. Lindstrand later gained a masters degree in aeronautical engineering and worked for Saab Aircraft in Sweden and Lockheed in the United States. He saw his second hot air balloon in 1975 when a neighbour in Sweden purchased it from a British company. When Lindstrand learned that this new balloon was supposed to be state-of-the-art, he decided that he could do better.
Company history
With Swedish aircraft engineer and entrepreneur, Håkan Colting, he formed Colting Balloons which operated in Ireland from 1976. In 1978 the company moved to Oswestry, England, to be closer to major markets in the UK and Europe. When Håkan Colting moved to Canada, Lindstrand continued to run the renamed Colt Balloons. In December 1991 Lindstrand founded Lindstrand Balloons Ltd. and later created a specialized aerospace company, Lindstrand Technologies Ltd. to manufacture and repair aerostats, airships, gas balloons, passenger-carrying tethered aerostats and other fabric engineering products. In 2002, Lindstrand Balloons was asked to manufacture the complex parachute for the Mars-lander, Beagle 2. Beagle 2 was launched in June 2003 but unfortunately failed to land successfully on the Planet Mars on Christmas Day 2003. Lindstrand Balloons, in partnership with Daimler Chrysler Aerospace of Germany, was awarded a design contract by the European Space Agency to develop a high altitude long endurance airship for possible use in the telecommunications market. Resulting from this, Lindstrand was awarded the German-based Korber Prize for engineering excellence.
Record flights
From early in his business career, Lindstrand's main interest and ambition lay in pushing the boundaries of lighter-than-air technology and he subsequently captured every absolute world record for hot air balloon flight. Ascending from Plano, Texas, on 6 June 1988, Lindstrand set a new world altitude record for hot-air balloons, reaching 19,811 meters. The record stood until 26 November 2005, when Vijaypat Singhania exceeded it. In January 1991, in the Virgin Pacific Flyer, Lindstrand and Branson completed the longest flight in lighter-than-air history when they flew 6761 miles from Japan to Northern Canada. Their flight set two new world records for distance and duration and they broke their own ground speed record, recording 245 mph. The Virgin Pacific Flyer still remains the largest hot air balloon ever built. In an attempt to be the first to fly a balloon of any type around the world, in December 1998, Lindstrand, partnered by Richard Branson and Steve Fossett, flew for 7 days and covered over 20,000 km in a Rozière balloon, launching from Morocco and landing in the Pacific Ocean near to rescue services in Hawaii. Rather less successful was his attempt in 1983 to achieve the world altitude record for hot-air balloons. Sponsored by the English and Welsh Milk Industry, a vast balloon emblazoned with "Milk's Gotta Lotta Bottle" was prepared for launch to be broadcast on live television early one Saturday morning. Adverse weather conditions led to the mission being aborted, but the balloon filled with air whilst being towed along the ground. Lindstrand was holding one of the ropes, and was lifted 30 feet into the air. On letting go, he fell to the ground, sustaining a dislocated shoulder. The accident, including the fall, was seen and heard on the television broadcast.
Recognition
Lindstrand received the Royal Aero Club's Gold Medal from Prince Andrew twice, in 1989 and 1991, and the Royal Aero Club's Britannia Trophy in 1988. He is a recipient of America's highest flying award, the Harmon Trophy, given to him by Vice President Quayle in the White House. In February 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Institute of British Architects for "his highly innovative work in the field of inflatables and their application to habitable structures". Lindstrand is also in the Guinness Hall of Fame.
