| When most people think of the beginning of flight, | | | | the inventors were eager to see whether living |
| they think of the Wright brothers. But another pair of | | | | beings could withstand such a flight. At the time, |
| brothers preceded them by more than a hundred | | | | nobody knew how the upper atmosphere would |
| years. The Montgolfier brothers, who lived in Paris | | | | affect living creatures. The king suggested using |
| during the 1700's, were the first to successfully take | | | | criminals in an experiment, but the inventors |
| to the skies. Their craft was the hot air balloon. | | | | ultimately chose to use animals for the first attempt. |
| Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier were both | | | | In September of 1783, the Montgolfier brothers |
| sons of a successful paper manufacturer, Pierre | | | | launched a balloon with a basket attached. The |
| Montgolfier. Joseph was a dreamer and inventor. | | | | basket contained a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. |
| Étienne was practical, with a talent for | | | | Within eight minutes, the balloon rose to a height of |
| business. As was the custom at the time, however, | | | | over 450 metres and traveled more than 3 |
| their father arranged to leave his factory to the | | | | kilometers. The extra weight made it unstable, |
| oldest son, Raymond. Both Joseph and | | | | however; it tipped crazily and eventually crashed. All |
| Étienne were sent away to learn other crafts. | | | | of the animals escaped unscathed. |
| Shortly after taking control of the factory, however, | | | | Experiments with human passengers began later that |
| Raymond died unexpectedly. Étienne was | | | | year. At first, the balloons were tethered to the |
| called back to take over the family business. He | | | | ground. The first untethered flight was made in |
| became very successful, incorporating the latest | | | | November. The two passengers were a young |
| cutting-edge technology to his paper mill and winning | | | | doctor and an army officer, both of whom had |
| government grants and recognition for his | | | | volunteered. Their flight lasted about 25 minutes, |
| achievements. | | | | reached a height of 100 metres, and covered about |
| Joseph, however, continued to dream. According to | | | | 9 kilometres. They could have gone longer, but the |
| popular myth, he conceived of the idea for a hot air | | | | fire keeping the balloon aloft had started to scorch |
| balloon while idly watching some laundry dry over a | | | | the cloth. The two aviators had to apply wet |
| fire. He noticed that billowing pockets of air were | | | | sponges to the cloth while aloft to keep it from |
| forming in the cloth as it warmed. As he noticed this, | | | | incinerating, and they landed as soon as they came |
| he thought about the fortress of Gibraltar, which had | | | | to an open field. |
| never been taken by land or sea. He started to | | | | During the time the Montgolfiers were developing |
| consider whether it could be taken by air, with | | | | their hot air balloon, they were under pressure from |
| troops carried high over its walls in craft powered by | | | | competing inventors using hydrogen. Hydrogen gas |
| the same force that was causing the cloth to billow. | | | | was discovered in 1768, and hydrogen balloons were |
| Soon after, Joseph started his first experiment with | | | | being developed at the same time. Eventually, |
| flight. He built a box-like frame of lightweight wood, | | | | hydrogen balloons became the dominant flight |
| about a metre long on all sides, and covered it with | | | | technology, and hot air balloons were relegated to |
| delicate taffeta. He then lit a piece of paper on fire | | | | novelty status. |
| beneath this impromptu balloon. To Joseph's surprise, | | | | The modern hot air balloon is a fairly recent |
| it shot up and crashed into the ceiling. He immediately | | | | development. In 1960, inventor and engineer Ed Yost |
| wrote a letter asking his brother Étienne to | | | | revived the Montgolfiers' old design, updating it with |
| come with a large supply of taffeta and rope. | | | | plastic lining and a kerosene burner. Yost was an |
| Together, the brothers built a larger balloon--this one | | | | engineer involved in the development of high-altitude |
| about three metres by three. This one was a bit too | | | | weather balloons. He attempted several |
| successful. In its first test flight, in December of | | | | record-breaking feats in his modern hot air balloon, |
| 1782, it shot so quickly into the air that the brothers | | | | including a successful crossing of the English Channel |
| lost control. It floated over two kilometers before | | | | and an unsuccessful attempt to cross the Atlantic. |
| crash-landing in a field. | | | | Even though his Atlantic attempt failed, it set several |
| After a few more experiments, the brothers decided | | | | records for flight time and distance covered. Later, |
| to give a public demonstration to establish their claim | | | | another pilot successfully crossed the Atlantic using |
| on their invention. In June 1783, they sent up an | | | | Yost's balloon design. |
| unmanned balloon in front of a crowd of French | | | | Today's hot air balloons use propane burners and |
| dignitaries. It rose to an estimated height of 2,000 | | | | rip-stop nylon, and they've never been safer to ride. |
| metres, and news of their invention quickly spread | | | | The next time you're floating above the earth in a |
| throughout France. The inventors made several more | | | | hot air balloon, remember: you're seeing the world as |
| demonstrations in Paris. | | | | the first inventors of flight saw it, over two hundred |
| So far, all demonstrations had been unmanned. But | | | | years ago. |