Hot Air Balloon History

Why Was the Hot Air Balloon Invented?

Man has always envied birds, for their ability to fly and soar high up in the sky. We all wish to spread our wings and be able to fly great distances, see new lands and travel without hassle. Even the early man wished to fly as depicted in the cave paintings where men attempted to fly. Archimedes, the great mathematician in Ancient Greece, who understood and explained buoyancy, may have had a dream of being able to invent flying machines. The dream of being able to fly was shared by the 13th century English scientist Roger Bacon and German philosopher Albertus Magnus. Both men proposed hypothetical ideas of a flying machine based on the principle where force could be applied to lift them in the sky. Many great men chased their dream of flying and stumbled upon the invention of hot air balloon. If you are wondering what is the history of hot air balloons, then the following hot air balloon history will answer your question.

What is the History of Hot Air Balloons?

The ambition to fly was too overwhelming and men in history toyed with the idea of creating flying machines. Henry Cavendish, isolated hydrogen in 1766. Hydrogen was the simplest and the lightest of all gases on earth. Cavendish, described hydrogen as 'negative weight', as it was lighter than air. This prompted him to propose the idea, that hydrogen could be used to lift objects from earth into the sky. Cavendish would have been able to get another great invention credited to his name, had he pursued his idea of using hydrogen to fly.

A Duck, a Sheep, a Chicken and the Journey Begins
Two brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier who were into paper manufacturing business, toyed with the idea of flying. They developed a new paper by combining silk and paper. They burned the new paper and found that after burning the paper ashes rose up into the air. This phenomenon fascinated the brothers and what followed earned them a name in history as the globe aérostatique or hot air balloon inventors.

The brothers thought that the smoke had magical powers that helped the ashes rise in air. Thus, they decided to capture smoke in small bags that would rise in air. They finally figured out that a large bag containing smoke or 'magic power' could ascend into the sky. The scientific explanation for this phenomenon is that heated air is less dense inside a balloon and the air outside the balloon helps it rise into the air.

Their first flight of air balloon was conducted at Annonay, France on June 5, 1783. They made a balloon of linen and paper, which had a volume id 23, 303 cubic feet. Fire on the ground helped heat the air in the balloon. The first passengers of this historic flight were, a sheep, a duck and a chicken. The balloon flew 1 mile from the starting point and was witnessed by King Loius XVI from the front of his palace. The flight was successful and none of the passengers suffered any injuries. And thus, the beginning of a long history of hot air balloons was made possible.

Hot Air Balloon Invention - The Journey Continues
The hot air balloon invention by the hot air balloon inventors, the Montgolfier brothers, inspired two people, one a major in the infantry and another a physics professor who wanted to try flying. After about two months of the Montgolfier brother experiment, Marquis Francois d'Arlandes and Pilatre de Rozier became the first humans to fly. They were lifted to about 3000 feet and remained aloft for 25 minutes.

Soon, their success tempted many to carry out different hot air balloon designs and ambitious flights. On 27th August 1783, a French Chemist, Jacques Charles invented a new balloon that used hydrogen to be lifted off the ground. This gas proved to be very useful for flying as predicted by Cavendish. On 1st December, 1783, Charles and Noel Roberts flew 27 miles in their first hydrogen filled balloon. The first woman in the history to fly a hot air balloon was Elizabeth Thible who went aloft at Lyons, France on 4th June 1784.

On October 4th, 1784, James Satler became the first man to fly a British designed balloon in the history of hot air balloons. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the first hot air balloon in Philadelphia, America in January 9, 1793. Blancharf and Dr. John Jeffries, an American, became the first humans in the history to fly a hot air balloon across the English Channel on January 7, 1785.

Hot Air Balloon - The Journey Today
For about 150 years, there were very few advances in hot air ballooning. In 1960, Ed Yost developed a balloon made of nylon and heated the air within the balloon using a propane burner. This primitive advancement, earned Ed Yost to be known as the father of modern-day ballooning. There have been many changes made since then and today balloon baskets are made of rattan wicker. They come in two shapes rectangular and triangle. It contains the propane tanks, burner and instruments. There are three instruments, variometer, digital temperature gauge and an altimeter in the modern hot air balloons.

Even in this age of jet planes and rockets, people still enjoy a ride in hot air balloons. Hot balloon festivals are organized to give people and children the taste of the old world. This was all about the history of hot air balloons. So why was the hot air balloon invented? It was invented to fulfill man's desire to fly and touch the clouds. I hope this article has helped answer your question, what is the history of hot air balloons.