Hot air balloon

Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers' invention in Annonay, France in 1783. The first manned flight was made on November 21, 1783, in Paris by Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. Balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than just being carried along by the wind are known as airships.

History

The first balloons capable of carrying passengers used hot air to obtain buoyancy and were built by the brothers Josef and Etienne Montgolfier in Annonay, France. They were from a family of paper manufacturers who had noticed the ash rising in fires and thought that the smoke was the lifting agent. After experimenting with unmanned balloons and flights with animals, the first manned balloon flight took place on 21 November 1783. King Louis XVI had originally decreed that condemned criminals would be the first pilots, but a young physicist named Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis Francois d'Arlandes successfully petitioned for the honor. Hot air balloons were basically paper bags with a smoky fire built on a grill attached to the bottom, so they had a tendency to catch fire and be destroyed on landing. After the invention of the hydrogen balloon, hot air ballooning faded into obscurity until being reborn in the 1960s.

Related Topics:
Buoyancy - Montgolfier - 21 November - 1783 - King Louis XVI - Pilâtre de Rozier - 1960s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first hot air balloon flight in the United States took place on January 9, 1793. The 45-minute-long flight started in Philadelphia and ended in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The flight was witnessed by George Washington.

Related Topics:
United States - January 9 - 1793 - Philadelphia - Gloucester County - New Jersey - George Washington

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Balloons were the first manifestation of air power. Hot air balloons such as The Enterprise were used by the North for artillery observation in the American Civil War and were used for communication during the Siege of Paris in 1871. They were also used for observation of trench warfare in World War I.

Related Topics:
Air power - The Enterprise - North - Artillery - American Civil War - Siege of Paris - Trench warfare - World War I

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unmanned hot air balloons are mentioned in Chinese history.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chu-ko Kung-ming in the three kingdoms era used airborne lanterns for military signalling.

Related Topics:
Chu-ko Kung-ming - Three kingdoms

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

These lanterns, known as Kung-ming lanterns nowadays, are still being flown in China, despite the risk of causing a fire upon landing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~