Ritmester Clausen-Kaas had just completed Klampenborg in 1908 and wanted to promote this new horse-race race-track as the ‘happening’ place. He bought a Percal balloon named “Danmark’ and a Voisin Aircraft – both from France. He built a hangar for the aircraft and had a gas-pipe installed from the near-by gas storage facility. He then made an agreement with the newly opened Dansk Aeronautisk Selskab (Danish Aeronautical Society).

This small balloon broke a record on its maiden voyage, by flying for 8 hours and 20 minutes and landed near Posen in Prussia (Now Poznan, Poland), some 430 km away. Danmark’s second voyage took it all the way to the Russian border, 545 km away.  The third balloon voyage was from Aarhus to Upsala, Sweden. The balloon sport gained incredible popularity.

Danmark was involved in many eventful voyages, mainly to Sweden, Norway and Germany, and took part in several ballooning competitions – mostly in Germany.

On the night of 18th of May 1910, earth passed through the trail of Halley’s Comet. Denmark was sent up. Its gondola was filled with scientific equipment and vacuum flasks. It was the Meteorological Institute trying to collect traces of space-dust in earth’s atmosphere.

A new balloon christened “Danmark II” was procured in 1910 when Danmark finally gave in. The photo shows Danmark, during the Skandinavisk Ballonkonkurence (Scandinavian Balloon Contest). A competition that Norway won!

Danmark II flew regularly during the following years, from Tivoli Gardens. It it worth noting that the longest voyage was 740 km, and the fastest was 75.6 km/hr (47 m.p.h).