Hot Air Balloon Trivia
History
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On September 19, 1783, a sheep, a
duck, and a rooster become the first passengers in a hot air balloon
launched by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Ettienne for a royal
demonstration at the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. (FYI:
Benjamin Franklin did not attended this demonstration as generally
rumored. According to his report to Sir Joseph Banks of the Royal
Society in London, he attended the flight of the hydrogen balloon in August
of that same year.)
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 On
November 21, 1783, the first recorded manned flight was piloted by the
French physicist Jean François Pilâtre de Rozier and his companion, the
Marquis D’Arlandes. This balloon, which was also built by the
Montgolfier brothers, launched from the Bois de Boulogne park in
Paris. The balloon rose to about 500 feet and traveled approximately 5
miles across Paris in a flight that lasted 22 minutes. (While the
balloon did catch fire before landing, both passengers were unharmed.)
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Using de Rozier's double balloon
system which consisted of a hydrogen balloon and a hot air balloon tied
together, French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard and
American John Jeffries become the first to fly across the English Channel in
1785. (Earlier that year de Rozier died an hour into his flight in his
attempt to across the channel.)
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In the U.S. Civil War, World War
I, and World War II hot air balloons were used as tools of warfare, for
transportation surveying, and for communication.
Ed Yost made the first modern
hot-air balloon flight on October 22, 1960 from Bruning, Nebraska. -
In 1987 Per Lindstrand and
Richard Branson fly the first hot air balloon across the Atlantic.
They travel a distance of 2,900 miles in 33 hours to set a new record for
hot air ballooning.
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In 1988 Per Lindstrand rises to
65,000 feet in a hot air balloon and sets a solo world record for the
greatest height ever reached by a hot air balloon.
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In 1991 Per Lindstrand and
Richard Branson break cross the Pacific ocean. They reach speeds in
the jet stream of up to 245 mph, in their 'Otsuka Flyer,' which travels
6,700 miles in 46 hours. Their flight from Japan to Arctic Canada breaks the
world distance record they set in 1987.
Miscellaneous
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The largest hot air balloon
festival is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which is held each
October in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This event was started in 1972 with just
13 balloons attending. In the year 2000, it recorded 1019 balloons in
attendance.
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During the 1800's, almost all
balloons were filled with hydrogen or coal gas and were principally used for
public displays, and by scientists and soldiers.
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Today balloons are
used primarily for two purposes: sport or scientific research. Sport
balloons mostly use hot air. (Scientific balloons generally use
hydrogen, helium, methane, or ammonia.)
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Publisher Malcolm Forbes began
his collection of nine special shaped hot air balloons with a version of a
chateau he owned in France. He also owned hot air balloons shaped as a Harley-Davidson
motorcycle 200 feet long, a bust of Beethoven bigger than any face on Mount
Rushmore, and a towering copy of the Financial Times.
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