The memorial statue was created to commemorate the flight of the first Hungarian hot-air balloon. It took place in the airport of Őcsény, a little village in Hungary, in 1976, and the name of the balloon was Pannónia (HA-001)—hence the name of the foundation.

Building this statue was the first act of the foundation (thanks to many kind donators) to pay respect to the Hungarian history of ballooning.

A time capsule (with many memorabilias) has been buried by the foundation of the statue on the 40th year since the first flight, in 2016. The plan is to only open it on the 100th anniversary, in 2076. We hope that the next generations will keep this in mind and will be there to open it and remember to all the balloonists who has come before.

The statue itself was finished in 2018 and stands there proudly to symbolize the past, present and future of the Hungarian ballooning.

Only a few meters away from the statue, in the ex-flight controll tower, the visitor can find the first collection of the Hungarian history of ballooning, also known as the Balloon Museum.