History of Hot Air Ballooning

The Early Years of Balloon Experimentation

Hot air balloon rides have their beginning in a large, creative family, the Montgolfiers, in the mid 1700’s in France. Two of sixteen children, Joseph, born in August 1740 and Etienne, born in 1745, showed little interest in the family business of paper manufacturing. Instead, using their great imaginations they came up with the idea to float a paper envelope in the sky.

Observing the sky, Joseph decided to make an envelope with paper from the family factory, fill it with steam and make it fly. He watched his idea collapse in a pile of sodden paper, but Etienne stepped in with his input to make the bag float with gas obtained from sulfuric acid and iron fillings. Failure again. But later, in November 1782, Joseph got a taffeta envelope filled with hot air to rise to the ceiling. Summoning his brother, he said, “Get in a stock of taffeta and rope and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the whole world!” The time for serious scientific experimentation had begun.

To the amazement of those watching, the brothers managed to send a giant paper bag up into the air, using gas obtained by burning wet straw and chopped wood. Getting their first contraption 100 feet in the air, they decided to take things a step further, building a “machine” for taking people into the air. The brothers called it an “aerostat” and named their first machine Seraphina, a 40-foot envelope made of fabric lined with paper, its multiple sections held together with 2000 buttons. Their critics thought they were crazy, but they moved forward, launching their first public experiment on June 4, 1783.

The town square at Annonay was filled with spectators. The balloon was spread out on the ground and tied to wooden posts. The brothers lit a fire and the envelope began to fill. The horrible smell given off by the burning mixture of straw and wood alarmed some of the people watching, but under a menacing sky with the wind picking up, the balloon began to fill. Seraphina took off, and minutes later was just a speck in the sky, over 6500 feet high. The Montgolfier’s aerostat began to drift and then descend, as the hot air escaped little by little. The local villagers rushed after the balloon and found it about a mile away in a vineyard.

News of the event traveled quickly and soon all of Paris was talking about hot air balloons, and others joined the game. That August, a physicist named Jacques Charles sent a hydrogen balloon from the Champ de Mars. It came to rest 10 miles away, where frightened villagers attacked the “monster” that came from the sky. The first “accompanied” flight held a sheep, a rooster and a duck, and was organized by the Montgolfiers that September from the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. In November of that year, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes took the first manned flight. Even Benjamin Franklin was shocked at the achievement. The hot air balloon was born, and on January 19, 1784 the people of Lyon had the opportunity to admire the invention that marked the beginning of the conquest of flying.

Although these early balloons were a far cry from today’s high-tech version, the science of ballooning had begun. In the coming years, people continued to take to the sky and the advent of hydrogen ballooning meant even the sky had no limit.

Hot Air Ballooning Milestones

1785 – The first hot air balloon crosses the English Channel: crossing the English Channel was the first step in long distance ballooning. The world’s first balloonist, Pilatre de Rozier, was killed in his attempt to cross. His experimental balloon had a hydrogen balloon and a hot air balloon tied together, but the craft tragically exploded shortly after takeoff. This double balloon system remains among the most successful designs for long distance ballooning. The same year, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries, from America, became the first to successfully cross the English Channel.
1793 – North America’s first hot air balloon flight: a hot air balloon flight from Philadelphia to New Jersey by Jean Pierre Blanchard lasted 45 minutes and was watched by George Washington.
1794-1945 – War time brings hot air balloon use: from the Civil War through both World Wars hot air balloons were used as tools for warfare, for transportation and to survey the war field and communicate among the troops.

Our Recent History with Hot Air Balloons

1932- A manned hot air balloon flight hits the stratosphere: In August, Auguste Piccard, a Swiss scientist, flies to the stratosphere and sets a new altitude record of 52,498 feet. In the coming years, altitude records continue to be set.
1935 – A new record is set and remains for 20 years: a helium gas balloon, the Explorer II, sets a new altitude record at 72,395 feet with two crew members on board. It is finally proven that humans can travel and survive in a pressurized chamber at high altitude. This flight paves the way for future space travel and the idea of a manned flight in space. Radio broadcasts are carried live from the balloon.
1960 – Highest parachute jump: Joe Kittinger, an Air Force Captain, jumps from a hot air balloon at 102,800 feet and not only sets a record but also breaks the sound barrier with his body. This freefall record still stands today.
1961 – Official altitude record set: Commander Malcolm Ross and Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather, both of the US Navy, set a world high altitude record of 113,739 feet in their polyethylene hot air balloon, the Lee Lewis Memorial. They land in the Gulf of Mexico and when Prather’s pressure suit fills with water, he drowns.
1978 – First balloon to cross the Atlantic: A helium balloon carrying Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman, the Double Eagle II, is the first balloon to cross the Atlantic ocean, with a new duration record of 137 hours of flight.
1981- First balloon to cross the Pacific: Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, Ron Clark and Rocky Aoki of Japan, launch the Double Eagle V, a thirteen story balloon. The flight, from Nagashimi, Japan lands 84 hours and 31 minutes later in Mendocino National Forest in California. A new distance record of 5,768 miles is set.
1984 – First Solo Transatlantic helium balloon flight: A 3,535 mile flight from Caribou, Maine to Savona, Italy piloted by Joe Kittinger sets a record in the helium-filled balloon the Rosie O’Grady’s Balloon of Peace.
1987 – First hot air balloon crosses the Atlantic: a 2,900 mile flight across the Atlantic ocean in 33 hours sets a new record for Per Lindtrand and Richard Branson. The largest hot air balloon ever flown is 2.3 million cubic feet in capacity.
1988 – High altitude record for a hot air balloon: Per Lindstrand sets a solo world record of 65,000 feet for the greatest height ever reached by a hot air balloon.
1991 – First hot air balloon crosses the Pacific: Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson are the first to cross the Pacific in a hot air balloon, reaching speeds of up to 245 mph in the jet stream. The balloon, Otsuka Flyer, travels 6,700 miles in 46 hours from Japan to Arctic Canada.
1992 – Longest flight duration record set: A 144 hour, 16 minute hot air balloon flight by Richard Abruzzo and Troy Bradley on Odyssey from Bangor, Maine to Morocco sets a duration record.
1995 – First transpacific solo hot air balloon flight: Steve Fossett, launches from Seoul, Korea and flies four days to Mendham, Saskatchawan, Canada, setting a record with his Solo Challenger project.
1999 – Around the world hot air balloon flight: March 21, 1999 the first around the world flight makes a perfect landing on March 21, 1999 with Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in the Breitling Orbiter 3 in Egypt. The flight took 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes and beat all previous distance and duration records.

One of the Temecula Air Affair owners was present at the launch of the Breitling Orbiter 3 and cheered on the success of their friend Bertrand Piccard during the departure of his grand journey!

Block print of a hot air balloon scene during the 18th century.