While the balloon was thus becoming a recognized instrument of war it was likewise gaining in favor among sportsmen. In all the great nations Aero Clubs were formed and races and contests began to be announced. In 1906 Gordon Bennett made the offer of a Challenge Cup for the longest trip by balloon. The contestants were to start from Paris. On September 30th, 1906, sixteen balloons arose from the Tuileries Gardens and started on their way. An American, Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm, carried off the cup, accomplishing a total distance of 401 miles and landing in Yorkshire.
The second race for the Gordon Bennett cup was held in America, and was won by a German. The third was held in 1908 in Germany. The winner, Colonel Schaeck, made a dangerous descent upon the sea near the coast of Norway, where he was rescued by a fishing boat. Several other contestants had perilous adventures. The American balloon _Conqueror_ exploded in mid-air, much to the excitement of the thousands of spectators who had gathered to witness the start of the race. Instead of crashing to earth, however, as they had expected, it sank down gently, the upper part of the envelope forming a parachute. The aeronauts made an amusing landing on a housetop, little the worse for their sudden drop of several thousand feet. Another American balloon landed in the branches of a tree, while several of the remaining contestants came down in the sea and were rescued. On the whole it was a thoroughly exciting race, and the news of it aroused intense enthusiasm for the sport of ballooning in many lands.
The story of the parachute is inevitably linked in memory with that of the balloon. Those who look back a few years can remember when exhibition balloons were in their heyday, and the sensation the parachutist used to create as he leapt from on high and came flying recklessly through the air. For a breathless moment or two the parachute remained folded, and when, finally, its umbrella-like form spread out protectingly above the hero, a thrill of relief ran through the anxious crowd of spectators.
In the early days of ballooning the parachute was looked on as a sort of life belt the aeronaut might don in the event of a serious accident to his craft in mid-air. Many experimenters gave their attention to developing it for this purpose; but when it was found that the balloonist actually needed no protection, since the balloon itself would "parachute" to earth after an explosion, interest in the matter waned.