Vera Winzen acted as vice-president and chief of production at Winzen
Research, managed the facility, the personnel, and the production process, and
was forever improving the construction and design of the balloons. She also came
up with new systems to ensure consistent quality in Winzen products. During her
time at WRI she obtained four patents and was a central figure in the planning and
execution of Air Force and Naval manned research flights. In addition, she played
a major role in the development of high altitude gas balloons and was recognized
as the finest plastic gas balloon builder in the world. In 1957 she represented the
United States at the 30th Annual International Gas Balloon Races in Holland,
receiving a gold medal for her contributions to gas balloon research.
Note: I met Vera (then Simons) in the early 1970’s in Washington DC and gave
her a rough design for a “two level” gondola. This later evolved into her DaVinci
gondola. During that period, I also met Dr. Walter Lewin at his office at MIT and
met Otis Imboden, Vera’s National Geographic photographer.
Fig. 3.2 Otto and Vera Winzen, circa 1949. Photo courtesy of Raven Aerostar
30 Balloon Elements