In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that can propel itself through the air in a controlled manner.
A gas balloon is a balloon that flies in the air because it is filled with a gas less dense than air or lighter than air. It is tied to a thread to prevent it from flying up in the air. It is also sealed at the bottom to ensure that the gas doesn't escape. A gas balloon may also be called a Charlière for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small rubber party balloons. Blimps have displaced zeppelins as the dominant form of airship.
Donald Louis Piccard is a Swiss-born American balloonist.
Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet, the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view. Since the balloon moves with the direction of the winds, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed. Hot air ballooning has been recognized by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) as the safest air sport in aviation, and fatalities in hot air balloon accidents are rare, according to statistics from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Balloons were one of the first mechanisms used in air warfare. Their role was originally mainly for reconnaissance purposes. They provided humans with the first available method of elevating themselves well over the battlefield to obtain the proverbial "birds-eye view." They were an early instrument of definitive intelligence collection, and were also particularly useful in the preparation of accurate battlefield maps, before which time this rudimentary craft had led to many a battlefield failure. Incendiary balloons also have a long history.
Henri Lachambre was a French manufacturer of balloons. His factory was in the Paris suburb Vaugirard. He also participated in ballooning himself and attained a number of 500 ascents.
Virgin Balloon Flights, with headquarters in Telford, Shropshire, began flying hot air balloons in 1994 and its passengers are still flown in red and white balloons with the Virgin Group logo emblazoned on the side of the balloon.
A balloon carrier or balloon tender was a ship equipped with a balloon, usually tied to the ship by a rope or cable, and usually used for observation. During the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, these ships were built to have the furthest possible view of the surrounding waters. After several experiments, the type became formalized in the early 1900s, but was soon to be superseded by the development of seaplane carriers and regular aircraft carriers at the beginning of World War I.
Air Commodore Edward Maitland Maitland, was an early military aviator who served in the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers, the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force. He was a noted pioneer of lighter-than-air aviation.
The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual event that occurs between January and February in Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga. It features multicolored hot air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world. This four-day hot air balloon event is the biggest and longest-running aviation sports event in the Philippines.
Sophie Blanchard, commonly referred to as Madame Blanchard and is also known by many combinations of her maiden and married names, including Madeleine-Sophie Blanchard, Marie Madeleine-Sophie Blanchard, Marie Sophie Armant and Madeleine-Sophie Armant Blanchard, was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, and after her husband's death she continued ballooning, making more than 60 ascents. Known throughout Europe for her ballooning exploits, Blanchard entertained Napoleon Bonaparte, who promoted her to the role of "Aeronaut of the Official Festivals", replacing André-Jacques Garnerin. On the restoration of the monarchy in 1814 she performed for Louis XVIII, who named her "Official Aeronaut of the Restoration".
The Intrepid was a hydrogen gas balloon or aerostat built for use by the Union Army Balloon Corps for aerial reconnaissance purposes during the American Civil War. It was one of seven balloons constructed for the Balloon Corps and was one of the four larger balloons designed to make ascensions to higher elevations with a larger lift capacity for telegraph equipment and an operator. It was the balloon of choice for Chief Aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe overlooking the Battle of Fair Oaks.
The history of ballooning, both with hot air and gas, spans many centuries. It includes many firsts, including the first human flight, first flight across the English Channel, first flight in North America, and first aircraft related disaster.
Balloon Corps may refer to
Gustaf Vilhelm Emanuel Swedenborg son of lieutenant colonel Gustaf Erik Oscar Swedenborg and Maria Therése Fock, was a member of the Swedish military and an aeronaut, today remembered as a reservist on Salomon August Andrées failed Northpole-expedition in 1897 and for being one of the first Swedish balloonists. He was also the first person to hold an aeronautical certificate in Sweden, issued in 1905.
The French Aerostatic Corps or Company of Aeronauts was the world's first air force, founded in 1794 to use balloons, primarily for reconnaissance.
The European Hot Air Balloon Championships are the FAI European Hot Air Balloon Championship and the FAI Women's European Hot Air Balloon Championship. These biennial events for hot air ballooning are conducted under the direction of the FAI Ballooning Commission.
The World Hot Air Ballooning Championships are the FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship and the FAI Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship. These biennial events for hot air ballooning are conducted under the direction of the FAI Ballooning Commission.
