Celebrating over two centuries of balloon flight

November 21, 2023

A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated

If you want to see the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the world, mark your calendar for October 2024 and plan to visit the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. From a small gathering of 13 balloons in 1972, the spectacle has grown to become the largest display of balloons in the world. Now, 51 years later, there are about 600 balloons and 700 pilots featured at the annual event.

In the world of hot air balloons, November 21, is an important first. It was on this date in 1783 when two Frenchmen, Jean-François Pilâtre deRozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes, became the first humans to travel in a ship through the ‘air.’

From the moment people could harness their imaginations, there has been no greater desire than to be able to soar like birds, high above the ground.

DeRozier, who can credibly be dubbed the father of flight, made this happen after years of experimenting with gases and how they reacted and interacted; he parlayed his obsession to a career as a teacher and scientist and, as such, opened a museum for nobles to come and witness his experiments.

From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“After several tethered tests to gain some experience of controlling the balloon, DeRozier and d’Arlandes made their first un-tethered flight in a Montgolfier hot air balloon on 21 November 1783, taking off at around 2 p.m. from the garden of the Château de la Muette in the Bois de Boulogne, in the presence of the King. Their 25-minute flight travelled slowly about 5½ miles (some 9 km) to the southeast, attaining an altitude of 3,000 feet, before returning to the ground at the Butte-aux-Cailles, then on the outskirts of Paris.”

By all accounts, DeRozier was fearless and continued his experiments with what we know as ‘hot air balloons.’ Several successful balloon flights followed and, in June 1785, he took on his most ambitious journey which was to travel from France to England across the English Channel. Because of the distance involved, DeRozier determined that using just hot air (powered by stoves set up in the balloon basket!) would not be enough to make the journey. Instead he developed his own balloon – called the DeRozier Balloon – which was powered by use of hydrogen fuel to heat the air. By all accounts it should have worked. But a sudden change in wind direction pushed the balloon back, and caused it to rapidly deflate. It plummeted 1500 feet to the ground, killing DeRozier and the two others onboard.

The accident ended the adventurer’s life and research, but the “modern hybrid gas and hot air balloon is named the Rozière balloon after his pioneering design.”

When we lived in Redmond, Washington, it was always fun to head to the Sammamish slough and watch the cluster of hot air balloons which would soar over the valley on summer evenings. Then, in 2018, the hubby and I had the opportunity to attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival with a group from Washington Eastern Star. What an incredible experience! We left our hotel long before dawn and rode on a tour bus to the venue. The roads were jammed with festival goers. And out the windows of the bus we could see, one by one, the balloons in the distance glow to life in the dark skies, illuminated by the burning gases.

Although it was after sunrise when our bus finally arrived on site, we feasted on the spectacle of hundreds of colorful balloons. It was fascinating to watch as each balloon grew large, eventually  lifting into the sky. There were all shapes of animals; Balloons from cartoons and movies; geometric designs, patriotic themes, and holidays. There was even one balloon depicting Vincent Van Gogh. I never tired of the colorful variety or the ever changing kaleidoscope of balloons and hope to one day have a return trip to New Mexico’s Balloon Fiesta.

To read more about DeRozier and balloon flight:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Pil%C3%A2tre_de_Rozier

A general history of Balloon flight: http://bellestar.org/faq/default.html

A link to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta: https://balloonfiesta.com/