- Inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (2008).
- Is head of XAP, the "eXtreme Altitude Project" which is seeking a sponsor to fund the first expedition to linger in the mesosphere, above the stratosphere, below orbital space (2017).
- Inducted into the U. S. Ballooning Hall of Fame on July 27, 2014.
- With the help of famed French balloonist Charles Dollfus, Piccard arranged for the first flight of a hot air balloon across the English Channel from Rye, England, to Gravelines, France on April 23, 1963. Ed Yost and Don Piccard were on board for this historical flight. It was the first time a hot air balloon had crossed the English Channel. They ascended to 13,500 feet to obtain a wind blowing the right direction, a flight of 3 hours and 17 minutes. This flight introduced the modern hot air balloon to the world, a significant step in making sport ballooning popular.
- Inducted into the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Ballooning Commission Hall of Fame (2002).
- Made his first solo gas balloon flight in 1947, and received his FAA Balloon Pilot Certificate in February of 1947, making him the first to receive such a certification.
- Served as a balloon and airship rigger in the U. S. Navy during World War II; and later served as a Boatswain Mate 3rd Class at the U. S. Navy Airship Pilot Training School where he was instructor in Airship Construction and Design, Free Balloon Construction and Design and Free Balloon Flight at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
- Became a naturalized U. S. citizen in 1931.
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