Invention of the Hot Air Balloon

Recreational Balloons, Uncategorized 0

Joseph Montgolfière did not like school and work and was deemed worthless in life; however, he was intelligent, curious, and inventive. He and his brother Étienne invented the hot-air balloon. On 4th June 1783 in Annonay, France, the brothers launched their huge hot-air balloon which soared to 10,000 feet and flew for 10 minutes covering a distance of one-and-a-half miles. It was Joseph’s inventive genius that gave humanity its first balloon to fly humans, and their public-flying spectacle ushered in an era of manned flight. In honor of the Montgolfière’s invention and the success of the first manned flight in a Montgolfière balloon, the modern hot-air balloon is called the Montgolfière.

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How Was Gas Ballooning Revived in America?

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Celebrated balloonists Michael Emich and William Armstrong talk about the dedication and epic adventures of a group of gas balloonists and blimp pilots who revived the sport in the 1950s.
In an interview with Sitara Maruf, they discuss their book “Hands Off” which brings to life these fearless characters and their daring ballooning experiments and journeys that led to phenomenal feats or failures, and sometimes even death.

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The Ultra-Light Sport Balloon

Recreational Balloons 0

Leandro Corradini, a balloon pilot and entrepreneur– launched his startup FlyDoo, to make ballooning easier, manageable, and more fun. For this, he made several innovations in the balloon’s envelope, burner, and basket–and says his balloon system is the lightest on the market.

In the United States, his balloon would be a light sport aircraft, however in France, the balloon falls in the ultralight motor category,– and for that –Corradini had to motorize his balloon with a motor and a propeller. As some early balloonists experimented with a motor and propeller, without any success, having them on the balloon is a revolutionary step.

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Campaign for Thank You Balloon Launched

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Would you like to send a Thank You note to someone, by flying it on a hot air balloon? The Thank You Balloon Campaign launched on 12th June 2020. The two balloon pilots who have taken the initiative hope to succeed in their goal of flying a hot air balloon across US and Europe, after receiving support and funds from Thank you messengers and the ballooning community.

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Dewey Reinhard Reflects on His 1977 Balloon Flight Across the Atlantic Ocean

Feature, Recreational Balloons 4

Dewey Reinhard had never seen a balloon as huge as the one that he was about to fly in 1977, across the Atlantic Ocean, from United States to Europe. Reinhard and copilot Steve Stephenson knew that all 15 attempts by others had failed and had resulted in five deaths. But with three years of experience in flying hot-air balloons and two training flights in gas balloons, Reinhard was sure that he would be the first to achieve the impossible dream of flying a balloon across the Atlantic Ocean.

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