"Chrysler Transatlantic" Richard Abruzzo Troy Bradley Signed TRADING CARD COA

Richard Abruzzo  (May 19, 1963 – c. September 29, 2010) was a champion American balloonist  who with Carol Rymer Davis  won the 2003 America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race and the 2004 Gordon Bennett Cup . Abruzzo was born on May 19, 1963 to Ben Abruzzo  and Patricia Ann "Pat" Steen Abruzzo.  In his home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico  his business enterprises included real estate and ski lifts. The ballooning accomplishments of his father Ben, who was part of the balloon crews to first cross the Atlantic ocean in the Double Eagle II  and the Pacific ocean in the Double Eagle V , encouraged Richard's lifetime of balloon accomplishments. In 1992 Richard flew the first gas balloon from North America to Africa breaking the distance record previously held by his father.[3]  He was a five time champion in the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race winning in 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, and 2004.  The National Aeronautic Association  awarded Richard Abruzzo the Harmon Trophy  as the year's outstanding aeronaut  in 2001, 2003, and 2005. The 2001 Harmon Trophy was for the longest solo flight from Albuquerque, New Mexico  to Crawfordville, Georgia . The 2003 Harmon Trophy was for the first solo gas balloon transcontinental flight from San Diego  to the Georgia coast. Richard Abruzzo and Rymer Davis were lost at sea on September 29, 2010 while competing in the 54th Gordon Bennett Cup. Five days after liftoff from Bristol , England they encountered a severe thunderstorm and were lost at sea. Their bodies were found off the coast of Italy in the Adriatic Sea  on December 6, 2010.

Troy Bradley ; Born in Denver, Colorado on August 15, 1964, Troy Bradley was destined to fly. Grandparents Jim and Helen Dutrow were two of the pioneering balloonists in the Denver area. From early on Bradley had an exceptional interest in flight. He experienced his first balloon flight at age 11 in 1976. In the years following he spent every possible weekend crewing for his grandparents. At 13 years old, Bradley attended an event in Grand Island, Nebraska to crew for his grandparents. There he met a pilot flying for Anheuser-Busch. The pilot told Bradley of his travels around the country flying the Budweiser balloon and getting paid to do it! At that moment Troy knew what his calling was: Ballooning. At age 14 Bradley received his Student Pilot Certificate, and at 16 Bradley earned his Private Pilot Certificate. After earning his Commercial Pilot Certificate at 18 he competed for the first time in the U.S. National Hot Air Championships. He went on to receive training in gas balloons at 21 years; this removed the airborne heater restriction on his certificate. The hard work paid off when he began flying commercially in the Denver area immediately following his certifications. He was recognized for his talent, and was hired at the young age of 19 by Sid Cutter to fly for World Balloon, a balloon ride company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Coincidentally, Sid ran the Anheuser-Busch balloon and airship program at the time. Bradley would eventually go on to own World Balloon and was always thankful to Sid Cutter for his guidance and mentorship. From the beginning of his piloting career, Bradley had record setting on his mind. After competing in numerous championships and challenges, in 1992 Bradley made the first balloon flight with anhydrous ammonia gas (NH3) in the state of New Mexico. Later that year Bradley succeeded at making the first United States to Africa balloon flight during the Chrysler Transatlantic Challenge with his co-pilot Richard Abruzzo. Bradley and Abruzzo stayed aloft longer than any of the others that participated in the Chrysler Transatlantic Challenge. Their six-day flight set an absolute record for all types of balloons and stood for five years. Bradley also won the FAI’s De la Vaulx Medal for an Absolute World Record in 1992. Bradley has established or broken 64 Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records in Ballooning. In 1994 Bradley established the AM1 distance and duration records, as well as the AM1-AM7 altitude records. He was the first person in history to break records in the AA (straight gas), AX (hot air), and AM (hot air/helium hybrid) classes of balloons. Bradley broke the oldest standing aviation record in the books, achieving the record-setting distance of 1,225 miles in an AA3. Bradley competed in both hot air and gas balloons. He participated in 14 New Mexico State Hot Air Balloon Championships and won the championship four times.