The Hot Aired History of Balloon Flights

The history of the hot air balloon is hinted at in many cultures, in the fourteenth century Monk’s manuscripts talk about goatskins in the air that were placed near steam. Even the Egyptians spoke about recorded experiments concerning hot air; however it was two Frenchmen that created the hot air balloon and flew in one of the first ever balloon flights recorded.

The year that the air balloon was invented was in 1782, discovered by two brothers called Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. They found that hot air was lighter than cold and they created a silk balloon, which they were able to elevate thirty two metres into the air. Once they realised the larger the amount of hot air, the further they could make the balloon rise they decided to create a public showing of their find. This occurred in the brother’s home town of Annonay in France; they created their balloon from 900 cubic metres of cotton that was spread across a cardboard fitting. They then placed a boat with burning straw underneath the cotton balloon so that it filled with hot air. It rose ten thousand metres into the air before exploding and descending.

The brothers had promised their father that despite their discovery they were never to attempt to fly in their balloon. So the very first balloon flights contained a duck, sheep and a chicken that flew for eight whole minutes. This experiment was viewed by the Science Academy in France and even Louis XVI. Louis XVI was very sceptical about the balloon flights but still allowed for Pilatre Rosier, a native of France to attempt the flight with a passenger. The experiment was a success as the men flew over Paris for 28 minutes, feeding a fire that was placed within the middle of their basket.

This discovery won the two Montgolfier brothers nobility, but competition rose between them and Pilatre on who could fly the highest in their balloon flights. Soon the ideas developed and the challenge of crossing the English Channel rode up as the ultimate ballooning challenge. A man named Blanchard flew from England to France and completed this challenge on the English side. The challenge of the longer route, from France to England still had not been completed. In 1785 Pilatre attempted this challenge and died, as his balloon caught fire and fell into the channel. The reason this accident happened was due to a small bag of hydrogen that had caught alight during the flight.

This marked a fall in the rise of popularity with the hot air balloon and balloon flights, but now once again the balloon is a popular choice for many people that want to experience a beautiful, slow flight.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in hot air balloons.
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