The Breitling Capsule

1 May 1999, Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard took off from Château-d’Œx for the first successful circumnavigation of the globe in a hot-air balloon.

The flight of Breitling Orbiter III lasted nineteen days and covered 45,755 km. But they had needed three attempts to achieve success.

Essential on the way to that final achievement, the capsule used on the first attempt, Breitling Orbiter I, is displayed right in front of the Balloon Centre, in the middle of Château-d’Oex.

The Centre’s permanent exhibition relates the adventure of balloon flight in all its aspects: historical, technical and record-breaking, such as that of Auguste Piccard — Bertrand’s illustrious grandfather — who made the first manned ascent into the stratosphere… in a balloon.