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Who was the first person to fly a balloon around the world?

Author

Sarah Smith

Published Jan 12, 2026

The first recorded around the world hot air balloon flight was achieved in 1999 when Swiss Betrand Piccard and British Brian Jones teamed up and broke the record. They launched on March 1st from the Swiss Alps. After 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes they successfully landed in North Africa.

Who was the first to go around the world in a balloon?

In March 1999 Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon. Their dangerous journey began in Switzerland and finished over Africa. It took just 20 days. Pilot Brian Jones recalls the highs and lows of that amazing record-breaking journey.

Who invented balloon flight?

The History of Hot Air Ballooning. On September 19, 1783 Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist, launched the first hot air balloon called 'Aerostat Reveillon'. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground.

When was the first balloon flight?

The first hot air balloon flight 19 September 1783. The first 'aerostatic' flight in history was an experiment carried out by the Montgolfier brothers at Versailles in 1783. At long last, man could leave the surface of the earth below.

Who circumnavigated the world in a balloon?

On this day in 2016, Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov set a new FAI absolute world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe in a combined (hybrid) hot-air and helium gas balloon, after travelling almost 34,000km in 268 hours and 20 minutes.

39 related questions found

What 3 animals were used in the first balloon flight?

First passengers

The king proposed a test using prisoners, but the Montgolfiers instead suspended a basket below the balloon containing a sheep, a duck and a rooster, according to Time magazine.

Who was Ed Yost What did you learn from his segment?

Paul Edward Yost (June 30, 1919 – May 27, 2007) was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." He worked for a high-altitude research division of General Mills in the early 1950s until he left to establish Raven Industries in 1956, along ...

How did the first air balloon work?

A Sheep, a Duck and a Rooster

On the 19th Sept, 1783 the Montgolfier brothers successfully launched their first load carrying hot air balloon balloon made of paper and cloth. To inflate the craft they burned a combination of straw, chopped wool and dried horse manure underneath the balloon.

How did early balloons fly?

First unmanned flight

On 19 September 1783, their balloon Aerostat Réveillon was flown with the first (non-human) living creatures in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep called Montauciel ("Climb-to-the-sky"), a duck and a rooster. The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology.

Where was the first hot air balloon made?

The French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier developed a hot-air balloon in Annonay, Ardeche, France, and demonstrated it publicly on September 19, 1783, making an unmanned flight lasting 10 minutes.

How high did the first hot air balloon go?

Who was the first to fly in a hot air balloon? The first passengers to fly in a hot air balloon were a rooster, a duck, and a sheep. The hot air balloon lifted them over 1000ft and slowly descended to the ground. The first people to fly in a balloon were Pilatre De Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes.

Why was the first hot air balloon invented?

Man's dream to fly has dated back to the 18th century. The dream came to fruition from an idea which lead to the invention of the hot air balloon. In 1766, the idea that items can be lifted from Earth using hydrogen came from England's Henry Cavendish.

When was the first airship made?

Take the quiz. The first successful airship was constructed by Henri Giffard of France in 1852. Giffard built a 160-kilogram (350-pound) steam engine capable of developing 3 horsepower, sufficient to turn a large propeller at 110 revolutions per minute.

Who was the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon?

They had lofty goals–and those goals paid off. On August 11, 1978, a group of three adventurers became the first people to ever cross the Atlantic in a balloon. Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman were aloft in a helium balloon named Double Eagle II for 137 hours of flight time, according to PBS.

Did Richard Branson fly around the world?

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Branson made several unsuccessful attempts to fly all the way round the world by balloon.

What is the longest hot air balloon flight?

First Around the World Hot Air Balloon Flight

The longest hot air balloon flight ever recorded was that by a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist Bertrand Piccard, together with Briton Brian Jones, who were able to go around the world in just 20 days using the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon.

Who invented hydrogen balloon?

Print shows four men inflating the first hydrogen balloon (created by Jacques Charles) on August 26-27, 1783.

When did Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand cross the Atlantic?

In 1987 Sir Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, rather than a helium/gas filled balloon. They flew a distance of 2,900 miles in a record breaking time of 33 hours.

Why are hot air balloons popular?

Hot-air balloons are commonly used for recreational purposes. In addition to quiet morning or afternoon flights drifting cross-country to enjoy the view, many balloonists enjoy competitive sporting events and attempting to set new records. A balloonist may fly alone in the basket or carry several passengers.

How does a hot air balloon fly?

Hot air balloons work because hot air rises. By heating the air inside the balloon with the burner, it becomes lighter than the cooler air on the outside. This causes the balloon to float upwards, as if it were in water. Obviously, if the air is allowed to cool, the balloon begins to slowly come down.

Who were the first two human beings to fly in a hot air balloon?

French physician Jean-François Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent, the marquis d' Arlandes, make the first untethered hot-air balloon flight, flying 5.5 miles over Paris in about 25 minutes.

Where is the world's largest hot air balloon festival?

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Where: Albuquerque, N.M. Featuring more than 500 balloons, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the world's premier ballooning event.

How high can a hot air balloon go?

A hot air balloon can go as high as 3,000 feet. This is the standard for commercial hot air balloon rides that you may take while on vacation or experiencing a new activity in your community. The hot air balloons tend to fly between 1,000 and 3,000 feet.

What came first blimp or plane?

Airships were the first aircraft capable of controlled powered flight, and were most commonly used before the 1940s; their use decreased as their capabilities were surpassed by those of aeroplanes.

Do blimps still exist?

In 2021, Reader's Digest said that "consensus is that there are about 25 blimps still in existence and only about half of them are still in use for advertising purposes". The Airsign Airship Group is the owner and operator of 8 of these active ships, including the Hood Blimp, DirecTV blimp, and the MetLife blimp.