Limited edition flown air mail cover carried aboard the flight of the 'Double Eagle V,' the first balloon to make a successful crossing of the Pacific Ocean when it landed in Mendocino National Forest in California 84 hours and 31 minutes after leaving Nagashima, Japan on November 10, 1981. The cover, 7.5 x 4, numbered 1/1000, features a color image of the transpacific balloon, signed in felt tip by crew members Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, Ron Clark, and Rocky Aoki. Postmarked in Japan on November 9, 1981, and in California on November 12, 1981. Triple-matted and framed with a plaque to an overall size of 16.25 x 12.75. In fine condition, with overall rippling. The helium-filled Double Eagle V spent four days crossing the Pacific before the balloon, weighed down by ice and buffeted by a storm, crash-landed in northern California, ending the nearly 6,000-mile flight. No one was hurt. A highly desirable flown cover given its standing as the edition's first numbered example.
