History of Hot Air Ballooning
Historic use of hot air balloon technology
The first use of laterns using the same principles as hot air balloons was recorded in the Shu Han kingdom of China.
Balloon flight in Europe first documented
Priest Bartolomeu de Gusmao demonstrated the first balloon flight in Europe in Lisbon, successfully reaching a height of four metres in his small, unmanned balloon.
First full unmanned flight
Aviation pioneers the Montgolfier brothers launched their unmanned hot air balloon, the Aerostat Reveillon, in a flight lasting 8 minutes, reaching a height of almost 500m and travelling a distance of 3km. A sheep, a duck and a rooster were all on board and survived.
First tethered manned flight
Scientist Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier alongside two others took part in the first tethered manned flight.
First untethered manned flight
de Rozier and Jean-Baptiste Reveillon became the first pilots of a manned balloon flight - they travelled just over 3 miles in a flight lasting around 25 minutes.
Britain's first manned balloon flight
James Tytler becomes the first person in Britain to take to the skys in a hot air balloon, travelling around 100m in 10 minutes over the suburbs of Edinburgh.
English Channel successfully crossed in hot air balloon
Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries became the first to successfully cross the English Channel in a hot air balloon.
Balloons used in war for first time
Hot air balloons are used for observation purposes during the Franco-Prussian War.
First round the world balloon flight
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones fly around the world, non-stop, in 19 days 21 hours in a flight covering 40,000km.
First solo round the world flight
The first solo round the world flight in a balloon (and in any kind of aircraft) is made by Steve Fossett, taking 13 days and 8 hours from Australia back to Australia.
Finsbury Park Ballooning Society launched
Finsbury Park gets its first society dedicated to the art of hot air ballooning.