Balloonistics

The  first gas balloon  made its flight in August 1783. Designed by professor  Jacques Charles  and  Les Frères Robert , it carried no passengers or cargo. On 1 December 1783 their second hydrogen-filled balloon made a manned flight piloted by Jacques Charles and  Nicolas-Louis Robert , 10 days after the first manned flight in a  Montgolfier   hot air balloon . [1] [2] [3] [4] The next project of Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers was  La Caroline , an elongated steerable craft that followed Jean Baptiste Meusnier 's proposals for a dirigible balloon, incorporating internal  ballonnets  (air cells), a rudder and a method of propulsion. [5]  On September 19, 1784 the brothers and M. Collin-Hullin flew for 6 hours 40 minutes, covering 186 km from Paris to  Beuvry  near  Béthune . This was the first flight over 100 km. [1] [6] Gas balloons remained popular throughout the age before powered fligh...