Kelli Hicks - Hot Air Ballooning

A young Frenchman named Joseph Montgolfier watched as the smoke and ash rose from a fire in his fireplace. Some historians say he thought about the floating clouds in the sky. Others would say his mind was focused on wanting to help the French military find a way to attack the enemy from the sky instead of on land.

DID YOU KNOW?

Crowds in France were fascinated by the introduction of the hot air balloon and often gathered to witness launches.

Joseph began to experiment with smoke and a paper bag. He and his brother Etienne thought that gas from the fire would fill the bag and cause it to rise. They called it . The paper bags, though, kept catching on fire. By 1782, the brothers were using taffeta and other materials instead of the paper bag to hold the gas. Later, others discovered that it wasnt the gas or smoke, but it was the heat that caused the material to rise.

DID YOU KNOW?

Although the Montgolfier brothers receive credit for designing the first hot air balloons, the first recorded hot air balloon flight took place in Portugal on August 8, 1709. Father Bartolomeu de Gusmao set fire to twigs and sticks, and watched as his balloon rose to the ceiling of the royal palace, where it remained in the air for several seconds.

After many trials and experiments, on June 4, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers launched their first balloon to the delight of a large crowd in France. The balloon had a diameter of about 33 feet (10 meters) and traveled a distance of about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers).

Since that early launch, people still gather to enjoy the colorful display at balloon festivals. Albuquerque, New Mexico, hosts an International Balloon Festival every October, and Louisville, Kentucky, celebrates the sport with food, music, and hot air balloon races.

DID YOU KNOW?

The first living beings to travel as passengers in a hot air balloon were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster who traveled almost 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) in an 8-minute flight on September 19, 1783. All three animals landed safely.

Inventors experimented with different materials to make the balloons. Eventually, they discovered that , this fabric is the part of the balloon that fills with hot air. There is a layer of fire resistant material at the bottom of the envelope. This material is similar to the fabrics worn by race car drivers and firefighters.

The envelope of a hot air balloon displays a variety of bright colors and interesting patterns.

Inventors used different materials to lift early balloons into the air. They used wood, feathers, coal, paper, animal fats, and even whale oil to help the balloons get off the ground.

Today, a beneath the balloon produces a flame that reaches up into the bag and heats the air. The air inside the bag remains warmer than the surrounding air, and is therefore lighter than the outer air, which causes the bag to rise.

The pilot feeds fuel to the burner, which lifts the hot air balloon off the ground. To make the balloon rise higher, the pilot burns more fuel. To lose to deflate the bag.

In order to fly a hot air balloon, a pilot must obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Administration and be at least 14 years old. A pilot has to be at least 16 years old to carry passengers.

The passengers ride in a basket that attaches to the balloon. Usually made of , the basket needs to be strong enough to carry weight, but flexible enough to withstand repeated landings. The basket may be small to carry only a pilot, or large enough to carry fifteen people. The pilot uses thin cables, usually made of steel, to attach the basket to the envelope.