Hot Air balloon History

A long time ago actually on the 19th September 1783 a man called Pilatre De Rozier a man of science launched the first ever Hot Air Balloon called @aerostat Revellion’ This Hot Air Balloon had some very unusual passengers. The passengers were a sheep a duck and a rooster. The Hot Air Balloon flight lasted around 15 Minutes before coming back to earth with a crash.

After a few months had past the first manned attempt to fly in a hot air balloon was made. The day was 21st November 1783 and the two intrepid pilots were Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. These two are accredited with the first Hot Air balloon flight although there are claims that ancient Chinese had mastered the art of Hot Air Ballooning but no evidence remains.

The Hot Air Balloon flight took place in the centre of Paris and the flight lasted around 20 minutes and the birth of Hot Air ballooning had begun. Within two years in 1785 another French man named Jean Pierre Blanchard and an American co pilot named John Jefferies became the first to cross the English Channel this was the longest Hot Air Balloon journey so far and become the benchmark in terms of distance.

The same year saw the first Hot Air balloonist Pilatre die attempting to cross the English Channel he used an experimental Hot Air Balloon with a hydrogen balloon attached. The Hydrogen Balloon Exploded about half an hour after takeoff and he plunged to his death.

Hot Air balloon History advanced and the next major achievement was when Jean Pier Blanchard became the first person to fly a Hot Air balloon in States. George Washington was in attendance of that Hot Air Balloon flight.

Over 100 years later hot Air Ballooning really went up into the Air Were no man had gone before a Swiss Scientist named Augustine Piccard became the first man to achieve a manned flight to the stratosphere. The flight went as high as of over 50,000 Feet. This set a altitude record and became one of the most historic flights in balloon history.

The record was broke again in 1935 using a gas / helium combination Hot Air Balloon reached 72,000 Feet. This record proved that humans could survive in a pressurized chamber at altitude. This flight paved the way for a number of things like aircraft travel and space travel.

The altitude record was broken again in 1960 this time the flight went as high 102,000 feet at the same time the pilot captain Joe Kittinger performed a parachute jump from the balloon breaking that record as well.

Hot Air Balloon history is forever changing and being re written there are other challenges that are covered in the historic flights section. These include the Atlantic crossing, the Pacific Crossing and around the world challenges.