The Balloonists

In 1783 the Montgolfier brothers made history with the first hot-air balloon flight. Their exploits, and those of Rozier, Lunardi, Blanchard and other pioneering aeronauts, attracted the attention and admiration of the masses like nothing before. The aeronauts became heroes of their time. This new e [...]
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In 1783 the Montgolfier brothers made history with the first hot-air balloon flight. Their exploits, and those of Rozier, Lunardi, Blanchard and other pioneering aeronauts, attracted the attention and admiration of the masses like nothing before. The aeronauts became heroes of their time. This new edition of L.T.C. Rolt's classic book, with a foreword by famous modern-day aeronaut Don Cameron, is a complete history of balloons and the intrepid men and women who flew in them, from the first flights until 1903, when the Wright Brothers' heavier-than-air flight at Kittyhawk changed the history of aviation forever. Sprinkled with lively extracts from journals and drawing on contemporary accounts, "The Balloonists" follows the exploits of the early pioneers: the first Channel crossing by air, the first high-altitude ascents and determined efforts to cross the Atlantic from America.It ranges from showman aeronauts such as husband-and-wife couple the Garnerians, to Napoleon's use of the first Corps of Aerostiers in the Egyptian campaign of 1798-1801, and from man's first powered flight - taken by Henri Giffard in a steam balloon - to the use of balloons for early scientific and meteorological research. Lightly and entertainingly written, "The Balloonists" sheds light on a fascinating period of aeronautical history.