Eleanor Vadala (September 8, 1923 – July 19, 2023) was an American chemist, materials engineer and balloonist. She became director of research and development at the
Naval Air Development Center
Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster was a U.S. Navy military installation located in Warminster, Pennsylvania and Ivyland, Pennsylvania. For most of its existence (1949–1993), the base was known as the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) Warm ...
in Pennsylvania, where she helped to develop light synthetic materials for use in aircraft. One of her jobs was the testing of fabric in existing balloons to ensure they could be used safely.
Vadala was the third woman in the United States to be FAA-certified as a balloon pilot. As member of the Balloon Club of America, Vadala participated in 66 balloon flights, 47 flights in gas balloons and 19 flights in hot air balloons. Vadala was one of the first female pilots to participate internationally. She was involved in 13 flights hosted by the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
National Balloon Museum
The National Balloon Museum is a non-profit museum in Indianola, Iowa. It was founded in 1975 in short term locations, later gaining a permanent location in 1988. All of the museum's exhibits are about hot air ballooning and gas ballooning. The mu ...
National Park, New Jersey
National Park is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 3,026, a decline of 10 (−0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,036, She attended school in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
Juniata College
Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those wh ...
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
.
After graduating, Vadala worked at the Franklin Institute for eight years, as a lecturer on science and technology. She has said that she loved the work, but it did not pay well. Vadala volunteered at the Franklin for another ten years after finding a new job. In 1957 she helped to record the orbit of the Russia's
Sputnik
Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
satellite as part of the Franklin Institute's Moon Watch Team.
Interested in astronomy, she built by herself a 6-inch telescope. She joined the Rittenhouse Astronomy Society, eventually serving as Treasurer, Secretary, and President. Her acceptance of the presidency at a time when the organization had largely fallen into disarray was important in restarting its activities. For two terms, she served the Astronomical League in the position of Secretary of the Middle East.
Aviation materials research
Eleanor Vadala worked for the Naval Air Development department, studying synthetic laminated materials for use in the construction of aircraft. She held positions at the Naval Air Material Center at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, which carried out materials testing and laboratory experiments, and at the
Naval Air Development Center
Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster was a U.S. Navy military installation located in Warminster, Pennsylvania and Ivyland, Pennsylvania. For most of its existence (1949–1993), the base was known as the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) Warm ...
in
Warminster, Pennsylvania
Warminster Township (also referred to as Warminster) is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formally established in 1711. The township is 13.7 miles north of Philadelphia and had a population of 32,682 according to the ...
. She eventually became director of research and development at the Naval Air Development Center.
One of her jobs involved testing the balloons stored in the Naval Air Facility in Lakehurst, New Jersey, to ensure that they were still safe to use. She used an Instron Tensile Testing machine to assess the weight,
compressive strength
In mechanics, compressive strength or compression strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to reduce size (as opposed to tensile strength which withstands loads tending to elongate). In other words, compre ...
and tensile strength of the fabrics used. As a result of her findings, a number of balloons were ruled unfit for use.
Vadala also used the Instron to test laminated light weight materials to see if they were suitable for use in aircraft. Her publications include ''Failure mechanisms for advanced composite sandwich construction in hostile environments'' (1979) and ''Triaxially Woven Fabrics of Kevlar, Dacron Polyester and Hybrids of Kevlar and Dacron Polyester'' (1980).
Ballooning
Vadala was introduced to ballooning through Tony Fairbanks, a fellow member of the Rittenhouse Astronomy Society. Fairbanks was a charter member of the Balloon Club of America (BCA), incorporated in 1952 in
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore was originally named "Westdale" in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to "Swarthmore" after the es ...
.
Eleanor Vadala enjoyed her first balloon flight on January 9, 1954, a date that commemorated the first balloon flight in the Americas on January 9, 1793, by Jean-Pierre Blanchard.Don Piccard piloted the Balloon Club of America's N9071H, a former U.S. Army balloon built by Goodyear, on its fourth flight for the BCA. Known as the "Old 80", N9071H was an gas balloon. Don Piccard was accompanied by Francis Shield, Eleanor Vadala, and another first-time woman balloonist, Kate C. Ornsen. They landed in
Netcong, New Jersey
Netcong is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 3,232, Vadala has spoken eloquently of their landing. "We drifted down like one of the snowflakes. We touched down and landed so softly that the deer didn't even move—such a quiet serenity with the snow coming down so gently." The flight was reported by '' The Philadelphia Inquirer'' and other newspapers and was the basis for ''
Argosy
Argosy or The Argosy may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Argosy'' (magazine), an American pulp magazine 1882–1978 and revived 1990–1994, 2004–2006
* ''Argosy'' (UK magazine), three British magazines
* Argosy spaceship in ''Escap ...
''s April 1954 cover story.
Vadala's second hot air balloon flight was on July 4, 1954, with Tony Fairbanks. They flew from Valley Forge airport, celebrating
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
.
Vadala became an active member of the BCA, not only learning to fly, but also repairing the balloons, making nets for them, filling sandbags to use as weights, and driving the chase vehicles that followed the balloons after they launched. The club launched from both the Valley Forge Airport and from Wings Field in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
Vadala was the third woman to receive FAA Balloon Pilot Certification, passing the written test on June 27, 1962, and the flight test on July 13, 1963. She flew from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to Hilltown, Pennsylvania. Vadala was preceded as a licensed woman balloon pilot in the United States by Constance C. Wolf ("Connie Wolf"), November 26, 1956, and by
Jeannette Piccard
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard ( ; January 5, 1895 – May 17, 1981) was an American high-altitude balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and in later life an Episcopalianism, Episcopal priest. She held the women's altitude record for nearly three decades, an ...
who was issued her FAI-ACA ballooning license as of July 27, 1934.
Vadala's first solo flight occurred on October 20, 1962, in '' La Coquette''. She flew from
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
Lafayette Hill is an unincorporated community, primarily within Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. A small part of it is in Springfield Township.
Lafayette Hill is located just west of ...
, to College Avenue in Havertown, Pennsylvania. One of her early solo flights was mentioned with a photograph, in ''Sports Illustrated'' for December 24, 1962.
Originally owned by the Navy, the balloon ''La Coquette'' was constructed in 1928, and later sold to the Balloon Club of America. In 1955, it was redecorated and featured in the 1956 film "
Around the World in Eighty Days
''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
did not include a balloon flight.) After filming, ''La Coquette'' was returned to the Club and continued to fly.
In 1967, the Philadelphia Navy Yard decided to commemorate their 50th anniversary with a gas balloon launch. Vadala organized the launch, and was pilot-in-command of ''La Coquette'' for the flight, which occurred on July 29, 1967.
Vadala presented public educational programs about ballooning and was an instructor for hot air balloons. Unofficially, she served as the first secretary of the Balloon Federation of America, when it was formed in 1961.
Vadala also taught classes in English as a Second Language (ESL) to immigrants. At age 63 she married an amateur balloonist, Rittenhouse Astronomical Society member, and astronomer for the Franklin Institute,Edwin F. Bailey (1907–1986). After his death, she established the Edwin F. Bailey Scholarship Award at Villanova University in his memory.