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Fantastic Hot-Air Balloon Facts
Did You Know?
- The first hot-air balloon was launched on September 19, 1783, in France. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster, and the balloon stayed aloft for about 15 minutes.
- The first human flight was made on November 21, 1783, in France. The balloon was 10 metres in diameter and was made from linen and paper. Straw, chopped wool and dried horse manure were burnt to heat the air in the balloon. It rose to a height of approximately 2,000 metres and stayed aloft for about 20 minutes.
- Hot-air balloons are the oldest aircraft to successfully carry people.
- Today, it is quite usual for people to pay for a flight in a hot-air balloon. Some of these balloons can carry up to 25 people!
- Hot-air balloons do not travel with the help of an engine - they move at the same speed as the surrounding wind.
- Hot-air balloons cannot be steered; they can only travel with the direction of the wind! Pilots direct their balloons by moving them up and down to find different wind speeds and directions.
- Hot-air balloon pilots use gas burners to warm the air in their balloons to make them climb. They are also able to allow air to escape from the top of their balloons to make them descend.
- All other aircraft flying in Australian skies (including gliders) must give way to balloons.
- Hot-air balloons can take off from, and land on, any cleared area such as a football field or a paddock. They do not need a runway like most other aircraft.
- To find out which way the wind is blowing, balloon pilots have been known to drop a small amount of shaving foam overboard and then watch which direction it is blown in as it falls. Pilots can also work out the direction of the wind near the ground by looking at a flag on a pole, smoke billowing from a chimney, or even the ripples on the surface of the water in a lake.