Let's Fly Away: The History of Hot Air Balloons

Hot air balloons make for an amazing experience to ride, but what's the history of them? Read on to learn all about the history of hot air balloons.

Posted by: www.AerogelicBallooning.com

Imagine a sea of vibrant orbs begins to swell everywhere, as the sun rises. In less than a few minutes the sky is overtaken by a technicolor migration, with shapes of all sizes and forms. From the ground, you spot rainbow-like patterns and people waving down.

Albuquerque Balloon Festival
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Or if you're looking for a more exclusive experience you spend time observing the staff get everything ready for you. As you glance around there's only you, a nervous family member or partner smiling back to you, and a hot air balloon. You look at the ballon. You admire the striking pattern, as it inflates before you: a swirl of purples, oranges, reds, and blues. And it inspires wonder.
If you feel like concluding your bucket list by admiring specks of the horizon and celebrate the oldest form of aviation, book a balloon ride. You won't regret it. What began as a 15-minute ride in France that included passengers like a sheep, a duck, and rooster is now one of the most popular outdoor activities in the world.
The history of hot air balloons is one worth reading. Across centuries, scientists and engineers became fascinated with the idea of inflating a craft using paper, cloths, and adhesive tape. Can you believe that the first balloon ride was powered by burning chopped wool and dyed horse manure?
Today thousands of people travel to famous locations around the world to experience the wonder of flying. If you feel like learning more about the history of this fascinating air technology keep reading below.

History of Hot Air Balloons 

It's still not clear who or where the first hot air balloon was invented, but historians point to three countries around the world, for possible origins. It said that in the 3rd century in China "sky lanterns" were developed and used as military signaling.
Although they were unmanned, and no archaeological evidence has been found, the lanterns supposedly helped solve problems of aerial navigation. Soon after, the Mongolian army studied the technique and used it during the battle of Legnica during the Mongol invasion of Poland in 1241.
7,951 miles away from China, is Peru a country were, according to a 1667 Mexican newspaper issue, Nazca Indians used hot air balloons to create the famous Nazca Line Drawings. This fact draws us back to the period 700 B.C. to 200 A.D. Talk about going back in time.
For centuries scientists and philosopher wrote about the physics of law to try and understand how gaseous elements could fill a balloon to the point of inflating it and making it rise up into the air. Among the designers of the hot air balloon is Jacques Charles whom with the help of Anne-Jean and Nicolas-Louis Robert constructed a lightweight, airtight gas bag.
On the 23rd of August 1783 in the Place des Victoires, Paris, the Robert brothers and Charles filled the worlds first hydrogen balloon. Soon daily progress of the inflation began to spread, attracting a crowd that included Benjamin Franklin as an onlooker.
Yet, it wasn't until June that the first hot air balloon was flown with the first (non-human) living creatures in a basket attached to the balloon. The passengers included a sheep, a duck, and a rooster.
Wealthy brothers and papermakers  Joseph-Michael and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier named their unmanned craft Aerostat Réveillon. The hot-air balloon flight lasted eight minutes and covered two miles, obtaining an altitude of about 1,500 feet.
After experimenting with unmanned balloons and flights with animals, the Montgolfier brothers' attempts pushed the scientists Jean-Francois Pilatre to test out the first flight with human passengers. So in November Francois and a French soldier, Marquis Francois rose to almost 50 feet on the balloon. The two men traveled just over five miles in 25 minutes.
Not long after the trip, on December 1st Professor Jacques Charles made the first gas balloon flight from Paris and stayed on the air for two hours, traveling at a height of up to 2,000 feet. Soon after his successful landing, balloon flight became an attraction. People began to look for sponsors to finance the construction of balloons with the promise of profit from spectator tickets sold to view the launch.

Crossing Countries on a Hot Air Balloon  

Jean-Pierre Blanchard considered the be a pioneer on the flight made the first manned flight of a balloon in the United States on January 10, 1793. After crossing the English Channel, Blanchard's hydrogen-filled balloon took off from a prison yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
And guess where the flight landed? In Gloucester County, New Jersey! Even President George Washington was amongst the spectators that witnessed the famous takeoff. Gas balloons were the most common type of craft until the 1960s. Since pilots wanted to control directions they came up with a new design.
In no time pilots began using steerable balloons powered by steam engines.
But, the process slowed down the balloons so balloonist opted for internal combustion engines. This technology made dirigibles very practical. In 1972, a German engineer, Paul Haenlein flew the first internal combustion motor-powered balloon.

Challenges and Achievements in the Air 

There are many pivotal points in the history of hot air balloons that inspired courageous people to reach new heights. Here are a few events worth remembering:
1. New Altitude Record: In 1932 Swiss scientists Auguste Piccard was the first person to reach the Stratosphere. He reached a height of 52,498 feet.
2. Crossing the Atlantic: In 1978 A balloon by the name of the Double Eagle 11 was the first one of it's kind to cross the Atlantic. The model was helium-filled, and it carried three passengers. Their flight lasted 137 hours.
3. Crossing the Pacific: Three years later four pilots launched a balloon from Japan. The Double Eagle V landed 84 hours later in Mendocino National Forest, California.
4. Spirit of Freedom Around the World: On July 3rd, 2002, Steve Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone, without stopping. He launched the balloon Spirit of Freedom from Western Australia on June 19th and returned two weeks later. The duration of his solo flight was 13 days and 20,482 miles were flown, to mark the record of the longest distance achieved in a balloon.
We've come a long way since the first flight--and modern riders are happier for it!

Specks Across The Horizon  

Today thousands of people travel to famous locations around the world to experience the wonder of flying on hot-air balloons. The trips turn more exciting when you learn a little about the history of hot air balloons and how the activity is practiced today. If you want to take advantage of human creativity and progress look no further than the U.S.
Make sure you take hot air balloon rides in places like Phoenix, Arizona. The city of the "Valley of the Sun" has over ten balloon ride expeditions that offer you a unique view over the youngest and wettest desert in the world. Be an onlooker as the balloon departs, and see how everything you know just becomes smaller and smaller. At that moment you too become a speck across the horizon.

Written by: www.AerogelicBallooning.com