Hot Air Balloon
Hot air balloons are the oddballs of the the family. They don’t abide by all of the standards that planes and helicopters use, but it does have its own qualities that it follows. The hot air balloons history dates back to 19th September 1783, when Pilatre De Rozier, a french scientist, launched the first hot air balloon with the passengers being a sheep, a duck, a rooster. 2 months later, on the 21st of November, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, 2 french scientists, conducted the first manned flight of Paris. A couple of years later, Jean Pierre Blanchard and John Jefferies flew across the english channel, which back then was considered to be a first step in long distance flight.
How Does It Work?
A hot air balloon functions on the scientific reasoning that hot air rises through cold air. A hot air balloon is made of three different parts: The envelope, the burner, and the basket. The envelope is the fabric of the balloon which holds the air. The burner is the part that propels the heat up into the envelope. The basket is where the passengers and pilot stand. The burner uses propane gas to heat up the air in the envelope to achieve lift off with the balloon. The burner is fired at a regular basis to make sure the balloon doesn’t lose any height, and stays in the air. There are 2 simple controls that the pilot uses to make sure the balloon doesn’t go to high, and doesn’t plummet: 1. To go upwards, the pilot opens the propane valve which lets the propane flow to the burner which lights a fire and heats us the air in the envelope. 2. To go down, the parachute valve at the top of the balloon in opened to let the hot air out.