The hot air balloon – the story of the multicolored flyer

The hot air balloon is French in origin

On September 19, 1783, the scientist Pilatre de Rozier launched the first hot air balloon, called the "Reveillon balloon". The passengers - a sheep, a duck and a rooster - managed to stay above the ground for 15 minutes.

The first "human" flight attempt took place two months later, on November 21, this time the passengers being Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. The hot air balloon was launched from the center of Paris and flew for 20 minutes.

Two years later, in 1785, Jean Pierre Blanchard and the American co-pilot John Jefferies became the first daredevils to fly over the English Channel. Another important point in the sky of hot air balloon history is the flight of Jean Pierre Blanchard in 1973 – the first flyer in the skies of North America. The first president of the United States, George Washington, was also present at the balloon launch.

With the hot air balloon in the stratosphere

We make a leap of 100 years and arrive in August 1932, when the Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard made the first flight into the stratosphere, reaching an altitude of 1600 km - the highest until then. The '32 record was surpassed over the years: in 1935 (over 2200 km), in 1960 - when Captain Joe Kittinger parachuted from a balloon, after reaching 3106 km altitude.

In 1978, Double Eagle II became the first balloon to cross the Atlantic. The helium model hosted 3 passengers for 137 hours: Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman.

3 years later, it was the turn of the Pacific sky to be traversed by another "eagle", namely Double Eagle V, which took off from Japanese soil on November 10, 1918 and touched American soil (in Mendocino National Forest, California) 84 hours later.

Other notable events in the life of the hot air balloon are:

1984 – Joe Kittinger flew solo over the Atlantic for a distance of 3,535 miles

1987 – Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to fly across the Atlantic in their hot air balloon, and not in a helium / gas balloon; they crossed the distance of 2900 miles in 33 hours

1988 – Per Lindstand set a new record, this time for the highest solo flight in a hot air balloon (1981 kilometers altitude)

1991 – Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand teamed up to become the first to cross the Pacific in a hot air balloon; they flew 47 hours, crossing 6700 miles, from Japan to Canada.

1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones go around the world in a hot air balloon; they leave Switzerland and after 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes they arrive in Africa.

I say let's stop flying with just the thought in the balloon and let's do it at least once for real. The experience it will surely be an unforgettable one!