To give you an idea of how far hot air ballooning has come in since its inception, we at Sun Fun have found some interesting milestones that occurred along the way.
1783: French chemistry and physics teacher, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier was the first person to successfully get a hot air balloon airborne. This event occurred on 19 September and the balloon was given the name ‘Aerostat Reveillon’. The pilot was a brave sheep who had a duck and a rooster accompanying it. The flight lasted just 15 minutes before gravity brought the balloon back down to earth.
1960: Hot air balloon flights steadily advanced over the centuries and by 1960 astonishing records were being set. Colonel Joe Kittinger set a new record for the highest flight in a hot air balloon, going up to 102 000 feet before he proceeded to jump out. Kittinger set two records on the day, also breaking the parachute jump record.
1987: Duo Sir Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand achieved the astonishing feat of crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon. The pair travelled 2 900 miles in a record time of 33 hours.
1991: Branson and Lindstrand were not quite done though and became the first to cross the Pacific as well, this time travelling 6 700 miles in 47 hours on a route that went from Japan to Canada. The achievement saw them break the world distance record and at the time they were flying at speeds of 245 miles per hour.
2002: Steve Fossett put his name in the history books by becoming the first and only person to go around the world in a hot air balloon – solo! Fossett had attempted the record six times before finally completing the trip.
Find out why these pioneers fell in love with flying by going choosing from Sun Fun’s list of balloon safaris. We would be happy to tell you more about hot air ballooning while showing you the world from a new perspective.
December 23rd, 2010
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Hot air ballooning has evolved over two centuries and today there are some astonishing balloons and events for all to see. To give you a taste of what is out there, Sun Fun has found the largest hot air balloon and the biggest balloon festival in the world:
Biggest hot air balloon:
Bunnies are generally thought of as cute and furry hairballs that you just want to pet. At no point do they make your jaw drop to the floor in disbelief due to their awesomeness and mammoth size – that is until you have seen the Energizer Bunny Hot “Hare” Balloon. Considered the tallest balloon in the world, this giant beast is 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and weighs in at half a ton, promising a completely unique hot air balloon flight to those lucky enough to board the basket. The Energizer Bunny is 166 feet from the base of his feet to the tip of his ears and during flights, other standard balloons are dwarfed by its size as just its ears alone are as tall as the standard balloon. If the Energizer Bunny could wear shoes, it would need a 98 EEEEE in US size, with its balloon sandals being 60 feet long, 12 feet wide and four feet deep. Creating this majestic hot air balloon took 5 000 linear yards of fabric (60 feet wide) and 84 miles of thread.
Biggest hot air balloon festivals:
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, USA, takes place in early October annually and is considered as the largest festival in the world. This nine-day even attracts around 750 balloons, with pilots from around the world in attendance. The fiesta began back in 1972 as part of the 50th birthday celebration of KOB Radio. As the popularity of the event grew, organisers had to eventually limit the amount of entries after having to manage 1 019 balloons in the year 2000. The festival has a number of events that take place over the nine days, and balloons are launched from Balloon Fiesta Park which is located on the northern edge of the city. In 2005, the success of the festival was celebrated with the opening of the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum which focuses on the history of the event as well as that of hot air ballooning.
December 23rd, 2010
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