Airman Education Programs Topics of Interest
Got Nothing But Blue Skies
By J.R. Brown
It is September 19, 1783. The place, Lyons, France. Preparations are being made for a journey. A journey that will eventually take man from his secure environment of terra firma, and place him in a hostile environment called the atmosphere.
The vehicle to be used is a hot air balloon. The brainchild behind this trek is a wealthy paper maker named Joseph Montgolfier. There has been much speculation over just how Montgolfier made the discovery of the hot air balloon. The most commonly-believed story is that his wife was standing too close to a fire and that the smoke caused her skirt to be inflated and lifted above her knees. This caused Montgolfier to wonder-if this smoke, and its magical lifting powers, could be captured in a very large container, it might rise and lift a passenger along with it.
So, Montgolfier went about building the first hot air balloon. In 1783, not much was known about the atmosphere and its effects on human beings. more....
