Double Eagle I was a helium

Helium

Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...

 balloon

Balloon

A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...

 piloted by Ben Abruzzo

Ben Abruzzo

Benjamin L. Abruzzo was an American hot air balloonist and businessman. He helped increase the reputation of Albuquerque as a center of lighter-than-air and hot-air ballooning.-Biography:...

 and Maxie Anderson

Maxie Anderson

Max Leroy Anderson was an American hot air balloonist and businessman. He helped place Albuquerque on the map as the balloon capital of the world...

 in a failed attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 in 1977. The balloon launched from Marshfield

Marshfield, Massachusetts

Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,132 at the 2010 census.See also: Green Harbor, Marshfield , Rexhame, Marshfield Hills, and Ocean Bluff and Brant Rock....

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 on September 9. After being blown off course by stormy weather, the team was forced to ditch three miles off the coast of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 on September 12, 65½ hours after taking off. Abruzzo and Anderson, along with Larry Newman

Larry Newman

E. W. "Larry" Newman was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Newman, a wing, was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed 1 international rugby cap for Australia.-References:...

, went on to complete the first successful Atlantic crossing the following year aboard Double Eagle II

Double Eagle II

Double Eagle II, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, became the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours 6 minutes after leaving Presque Isle, Maine....

.

Double Eagle I was designed by Ed Yost

Ed Yost

Paul Edward Yost was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." He worked for a high altitude research division of General Mills when he helped establish Raven Industries in 1956.-Inventor:Born on a farm 7 miles...

and had a 101,000 cubic foot (2,860 cubic meter) envelope. Abruzzo and Anderson rode in an insulated open gondola measuring 6 by 6.5 feet (1.8 by 2 meters) which was later reused for Double Eagle II.