Per Lindstrand
Pilot
Aeronautical engineer and entrepreneur best known for his record-breaking hot air balloon flights.
He served as an Engineering Officer in the Swedish Air Force and flew his first balloon flight in the early 1970s.
He set a world record in 1991 by flying 6,761 miles in his hot air balloon, the Virgin Pacific Flyer.
He grew up in Sweden, but decided to found his hot air balloon company in England.
He flew across the Atlantic and later attempted an around-the-world flight with the British billionaire and adventurer Richard Branson.