After the success of the Berlin scientific balloon flights became generally known, the British aviation pioneer and promoter Patrick Young Alexander came to Berlin to participate in the flights with his ballon Majestic. Among other flights, he participated in the flight on 4 December 1894 from Berlin. Berson started alone on this day with the Phönix from Leopoldshall (near Staßfurt), partly because there was a convenient supply of hydrogen there, and also because the greater distance to the sea allowed a longer flight with a southerly wind direction. To allow them to reach the highest possible altitude, the basket was stripped of anything that was not strictly necessary, such as the anchor that weighed 40 kg. As the towline was difficult for a single person to handle, it was, contrary to the usual practice, already rolled up before the flight. The balloon, filled with 2,000 m³ of hydrogen, rapidly ascended, and reached 5,000 m within one hour. After two hours, and frequent use of supplemental oxygen by the pilots, the balloon reached equilibrium at 9,155 m altitude, with a temperature of −47.9 °C. As the ballast had been consumed to the point of the emergency reserves, Berson had to descend despite still being in a good physical state. He had reached an altitude higher than any human before him. After a total of five hours' flight, the Phönix landed in the vicinity of Kiel.A. Berson, R. Süring: Die gleichzeitigen Fahrten vom 4.
