The hot-air balloon represents a fascinating way of travelling, but did you know that the first hot-air balloon flight that had human passengers took place more than 200 years ago?The 21st of November 1783 is considered to be an important date in history because that’s when the man’s dream of flight became a possibility.
November 21st 1783 – the first hot-air balloon flight
At Chateau de la Muette, near Bois de Boulogne, the impossible become possible. Jean François Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent de Vieux d’Arlands were the passengers of the first flight. This was the first time in history when the human being managed to leave the well-known solid ground and fly. The event was possible due to Montgolfier brothers’ brilliant invention – a lighter-than-air aircraft. The flight lasted around 25 minutes, and the balloon was coal-powered and travelled around 9 km. The Montgolfier brothers developed this way of flight, after conducting numerous experiments that involved the use of different types of fuels. They failed in giving the correct scientific explanation behind their invention, but this is not the point in our story.
Two months before this successful flight, The Montgolfier brothers made a public demonstration. The passengers of this flight were a duck, a sheep and a rooster The result? Well, the balloon landed safely, and the animals survived. The fortunate demonstration aroused the interest of many people, including Benjamin Franklin’s.
The event that took place on November 21st, 1783 showed that flying was no longer a mere fantasy, a figment of the human imagination. It became reality. This flight paved the way for a long series of improvements, experiments and inventions that advanced science and changed the world. Today, we have planes that can take us anywhere, no matter how far, but one must never forget the great efforts that were made by those dreamers that were brave enough to aim at the impossible and overcome all obstacles in order to make it happen.
