Janet Folkes
{{Short description|British engineer, academic and balloonist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
Dr Janet Folkes (20 July 1959 – 17 January 2012){{cite web |url=https://www.fai.org/sites/default/files/documents/cia-hof-folkes-janet.pdf |title=FAI Ballooning Commission - Hall of Fame - Janet Folkes - Inducted 2015 |publisher=Fédération Aéronautique Internationale |access-date=17 December 2018}} was an academic from Nottingham, who held multiple ballooning records.{{cite news |title=BBC - Nottingham Features - Janet Folkes - world record breaking balloonist |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/features/2003/10/notts_faces_janet_folkes.shtml |access-date=15 December 2018 |work=www.bbc.co.uk |date=October 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824164424/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/features/2003/10/notts_faces_janet_folkes.shtml |archive-date=24 August 2017 |url-status=live }} She died in 2012 from breast cancer.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-16859707 |title=World record-breaking balloonist Janet Folkes' funeral held |date=3 February 2012 |access-date=12 October 2023 |work=BBC News}}{{cite web |title=A tribute to Dr Janet Folkes |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph23JVQ0wJI |access-date=15 December 2018}}
Career
File:Stephane Rousson, Janet Folkes and Bill Arras 2004 Rouen France.jpg
Folkes worked in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham.{{cite web |title=Dr Janet Folkes - The University of Nottingham |url=https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/collectionsindepth/university/women-of-nottingham/janet-folkes.aspx |website=www.nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223753/https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/collectionsindepth/university/women-of-nottingham/janet-folkes.aspx |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live }} She was an expert in lasers and water-jetting. She researched the use of lasers in cutting, welding and shaping metals – working closely with the engine maker Rolls-Royce.
Ballooning
Folkes took up the sport of ballooning in 1984.{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/great-wall-balloon-bid/209483.article|title=Great Wall balloon bid|date=29 June 2007|access-date=12 October 2023|url-access=registration|work=Times Higher Education|quote=Dr Folkes, from Bulcote in Nottingham, took up the sport in 1984 and holds 46 world records in ballooning...}}
She competed in the Gordon Bennett Cup (for gas-filled balloons) in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2009. During the 2009 race, she set the women's world endurance record with Dr Ann Rich, staying in the air for over 69 hours.{{cite news |title=Janet Folkes |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/janet-folkes-wrq5wxzrwvc |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=The Times (paywall) |url-access=subscription |date=4 February 2012 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Test Tube - Behind the scenes in the world of science |url=http://www.test-tube.org.uk/videos/pages_janet_world_record.htm |website=www.test-tube.org.uk |access-date=16 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503134414/http://www.test-tube.org.uk/videos/pages_janet_world_record.htm |archive-date=3 May 2017 |url-status=live }} She also piloted hot air balloons.
In 1995, she set the women's world altitude balloons record.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbac.org/trophySMed|title=The Royal Aero Club Silver Medal|work=British Balloon and Airship Club (BBAC)|access-date=7 February 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413001605/https://www.bbac.org/trophySMed|archive-date=13 April 2016}} In total, she established 46 world records.
She was involved as a technical engineer on the non-stop around the world attempt by Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett.
Death and legacy
Folkes died in January 2012, leaving as a legacy the Nottingham University balloon, G-NUNI.{{cite web |last1=Brooke |first1=Lindsay |title=Nottingham balloon - a taste of summer! - The News Room |url=http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/newsroom/2015/11/23/nottingham-balloon-a-taste-of-summer/ |website=The News Room |publisher=Nottingham University |access-date=15 December 2018 |date=23 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224310/http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/newsroom/2015/11/23/nottingham-balloon-a-taste-of-summer/ |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live }} Her funeral took place in Bulcote, Nottingham, where she had lived since childhood.
References
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Category:Balloon flight record holders
Category:Alumni of the University of Nottingham