Hot Air Balloon
On June 4, 1783 in Southern France, the Montgolfier brothers were the first to lift a hot air aircraft up to an altitude of a thousand meters.
Less than four months later, the experiment is repeated in the King’s Court, in Versailles. This time, a sheep, a duck and a rooster were the passengers of the balloon.
The first human flight occurred in Paris on November 21, 1783.
The flight crossed ten kilometers after 20 minutes. The aircraft was a hot air balloon of 20-meters height and 16-meters diameter, for a volume of 2,040 m3.
These sizes are still in use nowadays.
In January 1784, one of the largest hot air balloons ever flew, with a volume of 27,000 m3 and carrying six passengers, including one of the Montgolfier Brothers who has been recently ennobled by King Louis XVI.
As time goes by, it is now established that hot-air balloon is the safest aircraft.
Montgolfieres are now present in each of largest tourist attractions of the world, carrying between 1 and 20 tourists in their gondolas.
They are one of the most effective communication and advertising media as well.
