A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft made of a fabric envelope filled with heated air, which is less dense than the surrounding air and so gives the balloon its lift, with a gondola or wicker basket suspended beneath to carry passengers and the flame source that heats the air. It was the first successful human-carrying flight technology: Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent d'Arlandes made the first untethered manned flight in a balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers over Paris on November 21, 1783. Modern sport balloons are generally made from nylon fabric with a fire-resistant material such as Nomex near the burner, and while shapes now range from the traditional teardrop to novelty forms shaped like rockets or commercial products, the basic Montgolfier design of an open flame heating air inside an envelope remains unchanged.
Facts
SignificanceThe hot air balloon is considered the first successful human-carrying flight technology, predating both gas balloons and heavier-than-air aircraft. 1 Connections
In Field
Source Hot Air Balloon (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Hot Air Balloon (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, first untethered flight
The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight in the world was performed in Paris, France, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on November 21, 1783, in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers.
Lead paragraph, first flight technology
The hot air balloon is the first successful human-carrying flight technology.
- In Group: Lighter-Than-Air Aircraft, lead sentence
In Field: Aerospace Engineering, Categories
Airship technology
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