Hot Air Balloons: History, Beauty and Adventure

Hot air balloon travel has captured the public imagination ever since the Montgolfier brothers astounded France with their creation in 1783.

Image via Wikipedia

But the history of hot air balloons goes back much further.

As long ago as the third century AD, and possibly even earlier, the Chinese were apparently using hot air balloons as a means of military signalling.  They were known as Kongming lanterns.

There has also been speculation that the Nazca civilisation in South America (c.200 BC to c.700 AD) used manned hot air balloons to assist designers of the enormous geometric and human shapes created by removing pebbles to reveal the light-coloured earth beneath.  The designs can only be appreciated from a vantage point high above the ground.

The first documented manned balloon flight took place in France 1783, in a balloon constructed by the brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier.  At first the balloon was tethered to the ground, but a few weeks later a flight involving a freely-floating balloon occurred.

Modern recreational hot air ballooning did not begin until the 1950’s, pioneered by the American Ed Yost.  The Montgolfier brothers had been obliged to heat the balloon’s air with a fire on the ground, before releasing it.  This was a very dangerous practice, and it was abandoned in favour of hydrogen, and later, helium.  Yost realised that hot air balloons could carry their own fuel, in the form of compact bottled propane, in order to reheat the air during flight and make longer journeys possible.  Yost also introduced new types of fabrics for the construction of the balloon itself, vents for manoeuvring, and the iconic teardrop shape that we now instantly associate with hot air balloons.

Image via Wikipedia

The first non-stop balloon trip around the world took place in 1999, in a craft manned by Swiss Bertrand Picard and Briton Brian Jones.  It took 19 days.  The American businessman and adventurer Steve Fossett was the first person to fly solo non-stop around the world in a balloon.  He launched The Spirit of Freedom in Australia on June 19 2002, and landed back in Australia 14 days later.

The latest hot air balloons come in all shapes and sizes, and balloon travel has become a popular form of recreation.

Image via Wikipedia

Six-year-old Colorado boy Falcon Heene became the latest notorious would-be balloonist, without leaving the ground.  His publicity-seeking family pitched the idea that young Falcon was riding high in an experimental balloon that accidentally took off from their backyard, and the resulting search and rescue drama had millions holding their breath until the boy was discovered hiding in an attic.

Meanwhile, we will continue to watch the skies until the next adventurer comes along.