Ballooning Information
The first recorded balloon flight had no passengers and took place in France in June 1783. Two brothers Jacques Etienne and Joseph Michel Montgolfier sent a large bag filled with smoke into the air that rose 35 feet before descending.
In September of that year the first passengers to successfully fly in a balloon were a duck, a sheep and a rooster. This gave hope for the future possibility of humans being able to survive such a flight.
On October 15 th a balloon called the Aerostat Reveillon was launched in France carrying scientist Pilatre De Rozier. The Aerostat Reveillon rose to the end of its 250 foot tether for fifteen minutes before landing safely.
On November 21 st 1783, Marquis de Arlandes and Pilatre de Rozier piloted man's first un-tethered aerial voyage more than a century before such historic milestones set by the Wright brothers and Kitty Hawk. The balloon had a "Montgolfier" design constructed of paper and linen and rose 500 feet above Paris. The balloon travelled five and a half miles for a duration of 20 minutes before landing on the Butte-aux-Cailles. The heat to inflate the balloon was generated by a fire of straw, kindling, even rotten meat. Eventually the balloon caught on fire, however, the first untethered balloon voyage had been created.
Ten days later, a French physicist named Jacques Charles, and Aine Roberts made the first hydrogen filled balloon flight. The red and white balloon flew for 25 miles before landing in the Nesle-la Vallee where frightened farmers attacked the descending balloon with pitchforks. They believed that the balloons were strange objects descending from the heavens. From this point onwards, manned balloon flights progressed at an amazing rate.
Once the powered aircraft was invented, ballooning's popularity decreased and was only continued by some enthusiasts. The current sport of ballooning survived and evolved from the use of balloons by the US Navy for research. Ballooning made a comeback with the development of a durable inexpensive nylon able to be used for the envelope.
