Ballooning had been taken up by the new playboys of the Edwardian era and balloon meetings and races became all the rage among the rich young men. The greatest of these races was the annual long-distance race organized by the American publishing tycoon Gordon Bennett. Starting in 1906 these continued with great success until the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1979 they were revived but by then the gas balloon was being usurped by its old rival… hot-air was back!