History of air balloons

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     The first air balloon was built in Annotate, France by two brothers named Josef and Ethien Montgolfier.  Their first balloon was built out of paper bags.  They got the idea to build a hot air balloon when they saw the ashes rising from the fire.  Their first balloon took flight on the 21st of November 1783.  Their was made out of paper bags with a Smokey fire attached to the bottom of the balloon.  The paper balloons would tear upon landing and easily caught fire. Later on the balloons were manufactured out of synthetic fabrics and are powered by heated air.

By Christopher Zuniga
Updated  Apr 2005