The Ultra-Light Sport Balloon

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

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

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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The First Human Flight Was by a Balloon, 235 Years Ago

The first flying adventure by a balloon on November 21, 1783 proved that humans could survive at reasonable altitudes away from the surface of the earth. With their balloon flight, Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes had achieved a dream of centuries; a dream for which many brave souls had lost their lives. All over the world, balloonists celebrate 21st November as the Montgolfier Day to mark the anniversary of the first flight in honor of Rozier and d’Arlandes, by a hot air balloon invented by the Montgolfier brothers, which, to this day, is called the Montgolfière.

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