The First Hot Air Balloon

The history of hot air balloons begins in France in 1783. Two brothers who owned a paper mill, Joseph Michel and Jacques Ettienne Montgolfier, launched a balloon carrying a sheep, a duck, and a rooster in September of that year. King Louis XVI of France allegedly had suggested launching two criminals in this balloon to make sure air flight was safe, but the brothers opted for farm animals instead.

"The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted aloft. It was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes," according to Wikipedia.

Both King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette were on hand to watch the historic flight, which lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles, and obtained an altitude of about 1,500 feet (460 m).

No one knows whether the farm critters enjoyed it. But next the brothers set out to create a memorable experience for people. Two months later, on November 21, 1783, they launched the first manned hot air balloon. The balloon, made of silk and paper, was piloted by Pilate de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. It ascended to approximately 500 feet and stayed up for about 25 minutes before landing in a vineyard approximately 5 1/2 miles from the Paris park from which it had been launched.

Folklore about the flight says the pilots gave champagne to the local farmers after landing to ease their fears of this suspicious craft from the sky, but the National Balloon Museum in Iowa debunks this story. According to the museum, the balloon actually landed in an empty vineyard with no witnesses.

-Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Reno Balloon Festival



Hot Air Balloon in Sky at Dusk



Hot Air Balloons Over Storkyrkan, Stockholm, Sweden

I took my first hot air balloon ride about 20 years ago, and I've been a fan ever since. If you'd like to give it a try, Great American Days can help you get airborne.