flynewleaf

The balloon – with this means of transportation through the air began the history of aviation and continues today. The first flight took place on November 21, 1785, thanks to the enthusiasm of two Frenchmen – de Rosier and d’Arlandes. It is noteworthy that the balloon itself was designed by the Montgolfe brothers. The enthusiasts were able to rise to an altitude of 913 meters, to overcome the distance of 9 km the French needed about 30 minutes.

Montgolfe brothers were inspired by the idea of creating an aircraft, unusual at the time, thanks to new discoveries of chemists. Gerni Cavendin found in 1766 that heated hydrogen is many times less dense than ordinary air. The brothers set out to investigate the properties of the hot air by adding it to bags of paper. The Mongolfs did not stand still in their experiments, continuing to use silk and linen as molds for hot hydrogen. From these experiments began the formation of the idea of the hot air balloon.

The balloons created by the brothers were nicknamed “Mongolfers”, and their design and principle of operation are still used today. The modern hot air balloon rises into the air by heated air. In the basket under the dome is mounted a special burner, which is responsible for raising the temperature of the air in the balloon. As a rule, propane-butane is used to lift the balloon into the air. There are a total of three types of balloons – gas, thermal and combined models.

In addition to heated air, inert helium can be used to operate the balloon – perfectly safe, but significantly more expensive than heated air.

Balloon records

Few people know, but it was by balloon that people first reached the stratosphere, this momentous event occurred in May 1931. In August 1933, the first picture was taken from the board of a balloon, which clearly proved the roundness of our planet.

The altitude record for an unmanned balloon was 53 km, the aircraft was launched in 2002 in Japan.