The History of Hot Air Ballooning

Av: Fredrik Wendt

A brief history of ballooning The basic idea behind hot air balloons has been around for a long time. Archimedes, one of the greatest mathematicians in Ancient Greece, put forward the principle of buoyancy more than 2,000 years ago.

Jim Woodman believes that triangular hot air balloons may have been used by the Nazca Indians of Peru some 1500 years ago as a tool for designing vast earth drawings on the Nazca plain.

Jim Woodman and Julian Nott built this triangular hot air balloon which proves that the Nazca civilization of Peru had the technology to use balloons to design vast line drawings in the earth. This could be the answer to one of the world’s most ancient mysteries.

More certain is that in the 13th century the English scientist Roger Bacon proposed hypothetical flying machines based on the principle. However, it was only in the late 18th century that man started to turn theory into reality.

1783 – The Birth of Flight

In September, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier launched the first hot air balloon with 3 passengers on board: a sheep, a duck and a rooster. The balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes over Paris before coming back down to earth with a bump! King Louis XVI is reported to have enjoyed the spectacle.

The two brothers worked for their family’s prestigious paper company, and as a side project they had begun to experiment with paper vessels elevated by heating air. Over the course of a couple of years they had developed a hot air balloon powered by burning straw, manure, and other material in an attached fire pit.

The first manned attempt came in November of the same year, when a French scientist, Pilatre de Rozier, became the first man ever to fly. The balloon was launched from the centre of Paris and flew for a period of 20 minutes.

Ten days later Jacques Charles launched the first manned hydrogen balloon, also in Paris. News of the manned balloon flights travelled fast, and astounded the world.

The History of Hot Air Ballooning

1784 – The First English Aeronaut

James Sadler became the first English aeronaut. He was the son of a pastry cook before taking to the air and earning himself the title of “the King of the Balloon”. He flew about 6 miles from Christchurch meadow in Oxford to the village of Woodeaton.

1785 – Conquering the Channel

A French balloonist, Jean Pierre Blanchard, and his American co -pilot, John Jefferies, became the first to fly across the English Channel. This flight marked a huge step forward in the capabilities of balloons, and people were already starting to think of the possibilities that long-distance ballooning might hold.

“ How posterity will laugh at us, one way or other! If half a dozen break their necks, and balloonism is exploded, we shall be called fools for having imagined it could be brought to use: if it should be turned to account, we shall be ridiculed for having doubted.”

— Horace Walpole, letter to Horace Mann, 24 June 1785.

1793 – America takes off

George Washington was present to see the first successful manned balloon flight in North America, piloted by Jean Pierre Blanchard.

1800 – The Death of the Hot Air Balloon ?

By 1800 the hot air balloon had been largely overshadowed by newly-developed gas balloons, which had longer flight times and could be steered.

1812 – The Irish Question

Balloon technology had improved sufficiently for the Englishman, James Sadler to attempt to fly the Irish Sea. He very nearly succeeded, ditching just off Anglesey. During the flight he mended a tear in the balloon’s fabric using his neckcloth. King George III was a keen admirer of Sadler’s exploits.

1898 – Balloons to Airplanes

The Brazilian engineer and inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont took his first balloon flight. He went on to build motorised airships, and in France in October 1906 he became one of the first ever pilots to fly an airplane.

“ Villages, woods and meadows pass across the moving scene... human beings look like ants along the white lines that are highways; and the rows of houses look like children's playthings."

— Alberto Santos-Dumont, 'My Air-Ships,' New York, the Century Company, 1904.

1931 – A Stratospheric Achievement

Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard was the first to achieve a manned flight to the stratosphere in an air-tight metal cabin suspended from a specially designed hydrogen balloon. He reached a height of 51,793 feet, setting a new altitude record. Over the next couple of years, altitude records continued to be set and broken every couple of months - the race was on to see who could be the world’s most fearless balloonist.

1935 – The Highest Men in the World

A new altitude record was set by two US Army Captains, Orvil Anderson and Albert Stevens, which was to remain unbeaten for two decades. The balloon Explorer 2, a gas helium model reached an altitude of 72,440 feet (13.7 miles). For the first time in history it was proven that humans could survive at extremely high altitudes, and the flight helped pave the way for future space travel.

1960 – Balloons and Parachutes

The altitude record was broken again in 1960 when Captain Joe Kittinger parachute jumped from a gas balloon at 102,870 feet. Captain Kittinger also claimed the high altitude parachute jump record. He broke the sound barrier with his body!

1978 - the transatlantic challenge

After many unsuccessful attempts, the Double Eagle II became the first gas balloon to cross the mighty Atlantic Ocean, another massive achievement in the history of ballooning. The Double Eagle II was helium-filled, and carried 3 passengers, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman. They set a new flight duration time of 137 hours.

1981 – The Transpacific Challenge

The first Pacific crossing was achieved after various attempts in 1981. The Double Eagle V gas balloon launched from Japan on November 10th and landed 84 hours later in Mendocino National Forest, California. The 4 pilots set a new distance record at 5,678 miles.

1987 – Enter Richard Branson

Richard Branson, of Virgin Balloon fame, and Per Lindstrand made the first transatlantic flight in a hot air balloon, the Virgin Atlantic Flyer.

1999 – Conquering the Last Frontier

The first around the world flight was completed by Swiss Bertrand Piccard (grandson of Auguste Piccard) and Briton Brian Jones. Leaving from Switzerland and landing in Africa, they smashed all previous distance records, travelling over 29,000 miles and flying for 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes.

Myanmar Air traffic control: Hotel Bravo-Bravo Romeo Alpha, what is your departure point and destination?

Brian Jones: Departure point, Château d'Oex, Switzerland. Destination, somewhere in northern Africa.

Myanmar Air traffic control, after several seconds' silence: If you're going from Switzerland to northern Africa, what on earth are you doing in Myanmar?

— Brian Jones and unknown controller, approaching Myanmar's air space during record around the world in a balloon trip, 9 March 1999.

2005 – Altitude Record Broken Again

In November 2005, an Indian businessman, Vijaypat Singhania, claimed a new world record for the highest flight in a hot air balloon after a voyage lasting several hours.

The 67-year-old textile tycoon soared past 69,000 feet in a balloon as tall as a 22-storey building.