On 27 October 2004, the American adventurer Steve Fossett set a new speed record in a Zeppelin NT airship. His speed of 115 km/h still stands today, 20 years on, as an absolute record. 

• See record file

Fossett managed to beat the existing record of 92.8km/h which had been set by James Dexter and Michael Kendrick in 2000.

To make the attempt, Fossett got his licence to fly the Zeppelin just weeks before the record took place in Friedrichshafen, Germany. His co-pilot was Hans-Paul Stroehle, and the FAI observers were champion balloonist Uwe Schneider, and Christian Michel (who has kindly provided these photos) and remembers Fossett as a "humble person," adding that, "it simply was a great experience to work with him."

The Zeppelin NT leaves the hangar

This, of course, was not Fossett’s only FAI record. The pilot and aviation enthusiast set an impressive 89 world records in other air sports besides airships: gliding, powered aircraft and ballooning.

Born in 1944, the late 90s and early 2000s was an extremely active time for Fossett in his air sports endeavours. On 3 July 2002, he broke the record of the Shortest time around the world in a balloon (320h 33m); on 3 March 2005, he became the first man to fly solo around the world unrefuelled.

Steve Fossett tragically disappeared in September 2007 in his Super Decathlon aircraft.

Steve Fosset (left) with co-pilot Hans-Paul Stroehle