 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Don Piccard . (Discuss) Proposed since April 2022. |
| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founder | Don Piccard |
| Headquarters | |
| Products | Hot air balloons |
| Website | www |
Piccard Balloons was an American manufacturer of hot air balloons. [1] Don Piccard, descended from a long line of aeronauts, built and sold some of the first modern hot air balloons, beginning in the mid-1960s. [2]
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket, which carries passengers and a source of heat, in most cases an open flame caused by burning liquid propane. The heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant, since it has a lower density than the colder air outside the envelope. As with all aircraft, hot air balloons cannot fly beyond the atmosphere. The envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom, since the air inside the envelope is at about the same pressure as the surrounding air. In modern sport balloons the envelope is generally made from nylon fabric, and the inlet of the balloon is made from a fire-resistant material such as Nomex. Modern balloons have been made in many shapes, such as rocket ships and the shapes of various commercial products, though the traditional shape is used for most non-commercial and many commercial applications.
Auguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Piccard was also known for his invention of the first bathyscaphe, FNRS-2, with which he made a number of unmanned dives in 1948 to explore the ocean's depths.
Jean Felix Piccard, also known as Jean Piccard, was a Swiss-born American chemist, engineer, professor and high-altitude balloonist. He invented clustered high-altitude balloons, and with his wife Jeannette, the plastic balloon. Piccard's inventions and co-inventions are used in balloon flight, aircraft and spacecraft.
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.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October, and has over 500 hot air balloons each year far from its humble beginnings of merely 13 balloons in 1972. The event is the largest balloon festival in the world, followed by the Grand Est Mondial Air in France.
Brian George Jones is an English balloonist.
Cluster ballooning is a form of ballooning where a harness attaches a balloonist to a cluster of helium-inflated rubber balloons.
Paul Edward Yost was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." He worked for a high-altitude research division of General Mills in the early 1950s until he left to establish Raven Industries in 1956, along with several colleagues from General Mills.
Donald Louis Piccard was a Swiss-born American balloon pioneer, promoter, innovator, designer, builder, and pilot.
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).
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard was an American high-altitude balloonist, and in later life an Episcopal priest. She held the women's altitude record for nearly three decades, and according to several contemporaneous accounts was regarded as the first woman in space.
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.
FireFly Balloons is an American hot air balloon manufacturer that started as The Balloon Works (TBW) in 1972 in Statesville, NC. The company is one of the oldest hot air balloon manufacturers in the United States, behind Raven Industries, SEMCO and Piccard Balloons. The origins of the company's designs can be traced to the work of Tracy Barnes in the late 1960s.
Raven Industries, Inc. is an American company that manufactures precision agriculture products, high-altitude balloons, plastic film and sheeting, and radar systems. The company is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Stock in the company was traded on Nasdaq until 2021 when it was acquired by CNH Industrial.
A Rozière balloon is a type of hybrid balloon that has separate chambers for a non-heated lifting gas as well as for a heated lifting gas. The design was created by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1754–1785).
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.
Eleanor Vadala is an American chemist, materials engineer and balloonist. She became director of research and development at the Naval Air Development Center in Pennsylvania, where she helped to develop light synthetic materials for use in aircraft. One of her jobs was the testing of fabric in existing balloons to ensure they could be used safely.
The Balloon Federation of America (BFA) is a 501c3 non-profit group for the advancement of lighter-than-air aviation which includes hot air and gas balloons. Founded in 1960, located in Indianola, Iowa. The BFA partners with the National Balloon Museum to induct outstanding individuals into the United States Ballooning Hall of Fame. The Federation presents multiple awards including the Ed Yost Master Pilot Award and the National Crew Person Award. The BFA facilitates balloon events by providing advice and guidance on FAA compliance.
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