From the history of aeronautics. The history of balloons The development of aeronautics briefly

Today we will talk about the first step of mankind in the development of the "Fifth Ocean" - the Earth's atmosphere, i.e. about the invention of the hot air balloon.

Despite the fact that the history of aeronautics is just over two hundred years old, the human desire to break away from the Earth and take off like a bird manifested itself in ancient times.

The most important event that influenced the development of aeronautics was the discovery and study by Henry Cavendish in 1766 of hydrogen, or, as it was called then, “combustible air”. Due to its low density, it was immediately considered as a carrier gas for balloons.
In 1783, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier's observations of clouds led them to the idea of ​​using water vapor for a balloon (see also). But the first experiments were unsuccessful due to the too heavy shell and the rapid condensation of steam. Then they decided to use the smoke generated by burning wool and raw straw. According to the brothers, the smoke had electrical properties, and they attributed to electricity the properties of being repelled from the surface of the earth.

After a series of failures, success came - one shell filled with smoke broke away from the restraining ropes and rose to a height of about 300 meters. After a ten-minute stay in the air, the shell collapsed to the ground.

On June 5, 1783, the new apparatus was officially tested. In the presence of spectators, a shell filled with smoke with a volume of 600 m 3 rose to a height of about two thousand meters and then fell at a distance of two kilometers from the place of ascent. Thus began the era of aeronautics.

On August 27, 1783, Professor Charles' balloon took off in Paris. Unlike Montgolfier's apparatus with a cloth chamber lined with paper on the inside, Charles' balloon was made of silk soaked in rubber. Its volume was 35 m 3 . But the main difference was that the shell was filled with hydrogen. Charles' apparatus quickly rose to a height of 950 meters and disappeared into the clouds. From excessive pressure at high altitude, its shell burst, the villagers, frightened by an incomprehensible object that fell from the sky, hurried to destroy the ball.

After this flight, balloons filled with hot air or smoke began to be called hot air balloons, and filled with hydrogen - charliers.

On September 19, 1783, a hot air balloon with a cage suspended on chains took off. It contained the first "ballooners" - a rooster, a duck and a ram. They made the flight safely. Now it has become possible to lift a person in a balloon.

On November 21, 1783, Pilatre de Rozier and Arland took to the air in a hot air balloon. Their device, having overcome 8 kilometers, landed in the suburbs of Paris. In flight, they almost died due to a fire.

On November 1 of the same year, Professor Charles, together with like-minded Robert, took to the air in a balloon of his own design. They stayed in the air for 2 hours and 15 minutes, flying 40 kilometers during this time.

It should be noted that the design of the charlier was more advanced than the hot air balloon. The first had more lifting power. In addition, the disadvantage of the hot air balloon was a high fire hazard due to the proximity of an open flame and a flammable shell.

Hot air ballooning became more and more popular. Since the beginning of the 19th century, they have been used for scientific purposes.

In 1887, D. I. Mendeleev made an independent flight to observe a solar eclipse.

In the first scientific flights, aeronauts managed to climb to a height of seven or more thousand meters.

In 1894, the German Berson on the Phoenix balloon rose to a height of 9150 meters, and in 1900, during the World Exhibition in Paris, the French de la Vaux and Costellon on the Centaurus balloon covered a distance of 1922 kilometers in 35 hours and 45 minutes, landing in the Kyiv province.

In the 20-30s of the XX century. Stratostats were created - balloons with a sealed gondola for the study of the upper atmosphere. They reached a height of 20 kilometers.

At present, balloons have found application in meteorology for launching automatic meteorological stations to high altitudes. The emergence of modern durable gas-tight materials, gas burners, which allow maintaining a high temperature inside the balloon for a long time, made it possible to create balloons for sports purposes.

The invention of the hot air balloon allowed mankind to begin their journey in mastering the atmosphere of our planet and preparing for space exploration.

For better assimilation of the material presented, we suggest watching a video about the history of Montgolfier's invention and the first flight of a man in a balloon.

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In Peru, during an archaeological expedition, scientists found a drawing on the wall of one of the tombs. It depicted an apparatus in the form of a giant tetrahedral pyramid that hovered in the air, and at the bottom a basket was tied to it, in which there were people. The drawing was carefully measured and the approximate dimensions of the aircraft depicted on it were calculated. After that, the framework of the pyramid and the gondola were built, using materials that were commonly used by the Peruvian Indians for construction. After the apparatus was covered with material, a huge structure was obtained, having almost 10 m in height and up to 30 m at the base. A fire was lit under the pyramid, and after a while the pyramid rose into the sky and pulled the basket behind her!

The project of an aircraft lighter than air is known, which in 1670 was proposed by the priest Francesco de Lana-Terzi. The balloon was supposed to consist of a wooden boat, cables, four-copper hollow balls, from which the air is pumped out, sails and a hand oar. The inventor believed that balls of thin copper with a vacuum inside would lift the entire structure into the air. However, how to make such thin but strong spheres? So the project of Francesco de Lana-Terzi remained unrealized.

Supposedly the first successful balloon flight was made by a Jesuit priest, Bartolomeo Lorenzo de Gusmao. This solemn event took place in 1709 in the presence of royalty and nobility.
The balloon was a paper shell filled with heated air. The heated air came from an earthenware pot mounted on a pallet suspended from the bottom of the ball. Something was burning in the pot. The balloon quickly gained height.

In France, the first balloon filled with warm air was invented and lifted into the air in 1783 by brothers Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier. By the name of the creators, such balloons are called "Hot air balloons".

Modern hot air balloons- These are also balloons that rise due to heated air. The shell is sewn from heat-resistant panels, the main material is a synthetic fabric with a special coating that provides airtightness.
The balloon is equipped with a propane-butane burner unit, which is designed to heat the air in the balloon shell, and a set of cylinders for fuel storage. In addition, there are barometric instruments and a fan on board to pre-purge cold air into the shell.
In 1988, a hot air balloon with a volume of 24,000 cubic meters was raised in Holland, its 50 passengers were accommodated in a comfortable two-deck basket.

Italian painter Guardi Francesca (1712 - 1793)
Hot air balloon rise.

In 1766, the Englishman Henry Cavendish received "combustible air" - hydrogen. Professor Cavallo began to fill paper balls and soap bubbles with hydrogen and observe them soaring in the air .. And it took quite a bit of time for the balloon to rise into the sky, hydrogenated.

In 1785 the French Jean Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffreys became the first people to cross the English Channel in a hot air balloon. They started from the British city of Dover and landed in French Calais. In flight, they had problems - the balloon began to lose lift. First they dropped the ballast, then absolutely everything that was in the basket, then even their clothes ...

In 1804 in honor of the coronation Napoleon there is a ceremonial launch of balloons. One of them descends on the tomb of Nero in Rome, which causes a huge scandal.

In September 1804, the famous chemist and physicist J.L. Gay-Lussac, on behalf of the Paris Academy of Sciences, made a scientific air journey alone, flying 160 miles. The flight lasted 6 hours. Gay-Lussac reached a height of about 7 miles.

On August 17, 1859, a hot air balloon took off from the US state of Indiana with an unusual cargo for that time - mail. Since then, this day has been considered air mail birthday. Thus letters were first sent by air.

In 1861, in the United States, the military for the first time transmitted a telegraph message from the balloon "Enterprise" to Earth.

Gradually, balloons began to be used and as military equipment.
In 1849, during the struggle of Italy for independence, the Austrian troops organized with the help of small (volume 82 m 3) free balloons bombarding Venice with incendiary and explosive bombs.

In 1859, at the Battle of Solferino, the French aeronaut F. Nadar reconnoitered the location of the Austrian troops from a tethered balloon, taking photographs of the enemy's positions.

Tethered balloons for reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustments were also used in the United States during the Civil War of 1861-65.

In the Franco-Prussian war of 1871, by means of free balloons, connection German-encircled Paris with the rest of France. For 4 months, 3 million letters and dispatches were transported on 65 balloons with a total weight of 16,675 kg and 150 passengers. However, the Prussian military began to use anti-aircraft guns to destroy flying balloons.

Paris Communards used balloons to scatter leaflets of revolutionary content.

Such balloons have been successfully used as in the first world war- for reconnaissance and adjustment of artillery fire, and in World War II - as barrage balloons. The military use of balloons continued during the Cold War. Reconnaissance balloons freely crossed the border in the thickness of the clouds, it was almost impossible to detect them with locators.

In July 1897, pilot Solomon Auguste André made the first balloon flight. to the Arctic. In 1997, in honor of the 100th anniversary of this event, the first balloon holiday.
Since then, every year the most daring teams of aeronauts fly to the Pole to fill their balloon with hot air and rise into the sky above the very top of the planet.

In 1900, the 1st International Aeronautical Congress. Among the representatives from Russia - N. E. Zhukovsky.
In October 1905, France established International Aviation Federation of Aeronauts.

The end of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century was marked by peak of aeronautics. A variety of balloon flights were made for scientific and recreational purposes. The design of balloons and their equipment were improved, records of altitude and flight range were set. Gradually, other flying techniques developed, and ballooning remained the privilege of athletes. Flying clubs began to appear in different countries, uniting aeronauts.

In 1973, a new design balloon was created. - solar balloon. Of all aircraft, it has the greatest lift. Its balloon is filled with air and has no burner, yet it is able to rise into the air. When the exhaust valve fails, it does not fall, but rises indefinitely until it bursts. Its shell is black, it absorbs the sun's rays well. The lifting force is created by the air heated by the sun's rays. So, in a "solar" balloon - the air is heated not by a burner, but by the sun.

In 1978, three Americans Ben Abruzzo, Maxi Anderson and Larry Newman for the first time crossed the Atlantic on the air balloon. When approaching France, the balloon began to lose altitude. The ballast was used up over Iceland. All things began to be thrown overboard - oxygen cylinders, expensive devices, cameras and a movie camera, clothes, a logbook, a walkie-talkie.

In 1981, Japanese balloonists Asuka and Americans Anderson, Clark and Newman on the Double Eagle V balloon were conquered the Pacific Ocean.

In 1995 pilot Bill Arras made the first balloon flight. over Antarctica.

In March 1999, after the completion flight around the globe lasting 19 days 21 hours and 55 minutes on the balloon "Breitling Orbiter 3" was set an absolute world record for flight distance - 40814 km. This record was set by balloonists Bertrand Piccard (Switzerland) and Brian Jones (Great Britain).

Starting with the launch of the invention of the Montgolfier brothers, the history of aeronautics has more than 200 years. Today's balloon flights are organized not only for scientific or sporting purposes, but also for commercial and recreational purposes.

The history of the appearance of balloons and the first balloonists

According to unconfirmed reports, the first balloons were launched in China in 1306 in honor of Emperor Fo Kien and in 1709 in Portugal by the monk Bartolomeo de Cusmao. The official date for the appearance of aeronautics is 1783.

It was in this year that on June 5, an unmanned aerial vehicle called hot air balloon - named after their designers, the Montgolfier brothers - Joseph and Jacques-Étienne. It was a paper ball covered with cotton and filled with hot smoke.

The first flight in a balloon was made by a sheep, a rooster and a duck - they were placed in a basket attached to the balloon and lifted into the air in September of the same year. Six months after the first official launch, people rose in a hot air balloon - a physicist Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlande. They flew 9 km in 25 minutes, while rising to a height of 915 m.

A little earlier - 2 months before the first flight of people, a balloon filled with hydrogen took off into the sky on the Champ de Mars in Paris. In honor of its creator Jacques Charles (professor of physics), he received the name charliere . This aircraft was more efficient than a hot air balloon - it rose faster and higher, but it had drawbacks - it was explosive and needed ballast. Later, dangerous hydrogen was replaced with helium.

With the beginning of the French Revolution, balloons began to be used in the army. For example, with their help, during the Franco-Prussian war, communication was established with Paris cut off from the rest of France. For 4 months, 65 balloons transported letters, dispatches and people - in total more than 3 million copies of correspondence and 150 passengers.

Later they were used to correct artillery fire in the army of Napoleon, during the American Civil War, in the First and Second World Wars. During the Cold War, balloons were used for reconnaissance, as well as a long-range communication system with submerged submarines. In the 1960s, the Americans developed and then launched into the stratosphere 2 balloon satellites that worked as a radio reflector for 9 and 15 years.

In ordinary life, balloons are used by astronomers to raise telescopes to great heights, as well as in the development of deep quarries, unloading ships, building dams and dams, skidding forests, testing space instruments, studying jet streams in the stratosphere, and cosmic radiation.

The history of aeronautics in Russia begins in 1869, when the Commission for the Use of Aeronautics for Military Purposes was established, and already in 1880 the Russian Aeronautical Society was founded, which are still active today.

The society promotes aeronautics, organizes sports competitions and exhibitions. In addition, in 1990, the Russian Aeronautics Federation was created, representing the country at the European and world championships held by the World Aeronautics Federation (for hot air balloons - in even years, and for challiers - in odd years).

On a note! For those interested in the history of Russian aviation, we recommend viewing - about the first daring conquerors of the sky.

The history of the development of aeronautics does not stand still. The advent of new materials has allowed modern balloon designers to create combined balloons - rosiers , named after Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier. Such aircraft combine the advantages of hot air balloons and chaletes, having a two-level shell - the upper part of the balloon is filled with helium, the lower part is filled with air, which is constantly heated.

Around the earth in a balloon

Of the 29 attempts to fly around the Earth in a balloon, 3 were successfully completed. The first non-stop was carried out in 1999. Its members are Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones.

The Breitling Orbiter-3 balloon, which they fly, filled with air and helium, circled the earth, starting on March 1 from Switzerland and landing on March 21 in Egypt. Thus, in 20 days (more precisely, 19 days 21 hours 55 minutes), balloonists non-stop covered 46,759 km. The average flight speed of their aircraft was 98 km/h.

3 years later - in 2002, the American balloonist, yachtsman and businessman Stephen Fossett made the first non-stop solo flight around the earth in a balloon Spirit of Freedom.

During the flight, he set 2 absolute records:

• speed - 5 126 km;
• daily distance - 5 126 km

It took Fossett 14 days to fly around the world. 19 o'clock 50 min. During this time, he covered about 33,000 km, starting on June 19 from the western coast of Australia (near Northam) and landing on the east coast of Australia (Queensland) on July 3.

This was already the sixth attempt by the American balloonist, and he financed the first five personally and only found a sponsor for the sixth - the beer company Bud Light. Fossett spent only 4 hours a day sleeping during the flight, sleeping in fits and starts for 45 minutes.

Its ball, 43 m high and 18 m wide, had a two-level structure, covered with an outer shell, was connected to a gondola measuring 2 × 1.5 m. The upper ball was heated by the sun, the lower one - by hot air. To do this, being at an altitude of 6-8,000 m above the ground and flying at a speed of more than 200 km / h, he had to regularly clear the burners of ice from the burners and switch cylinders at an air temperature of -40 ° C. The maximum speed of his balloon when flying over the Indian Ocean was 300 km / h.

In June 20016, Russian balloonist Fedor Konyukhov set a new record for a solo round-the-world non-stop balloon flight. He covered 34,800 km on his first attempt in 11 days, starting from the east of Australia and flying over the Tasman Sea, New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean, South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean, finishing in Australia.

The advent of inexpensive and easily controlled balloons contributed to the popularization of aeronautics on all continents. The largest European ballooning festival is the European Balloon Festival, held annually in Spain.

The Thailand Balloon Festival is visited by over 200,000 people from all over the world every year. Not inferior to them in popularity and American.

For over 40 years, the most famous center of aeronautics in Europe has been Château d'Eau, an Alpine resort in Switzerland. Balloon competitions and parades are held here, and it was also from here that a team of aeronauts, the first to fly non-stop around the earth, started at one time.

International festivals held in Mexico (Mexico City), Turkey (), Italy (Umbria) are very popular among tourists and fans of aeronautics. In addition, regular fiestas and ballooning festivals are held in Pereslavl-Zalessky (Russia), Minsk (Belarus), and Belaya Tserkov (Ukraine).

History of Aeronautics and Aircraft Engineering Nikolai Arkhipov Grade 8 "B" Gymnasium No. 11 St. Petersburg

The flight of human thought is like the free flight of birds. And the history of aviation is the best confirmation of this. As soon as a person did not embody the cherished desire to fly. He filled balloons with hot air, learned to use the aerodynamic force of air currents, having risen into the sky on hang gliders and gliders, and then mastered controlled flight, creating the first models of aircraft and helicopters.

History of aeronautics Lorenzo de Gusmao's balloon Charles's balloon Blanchard's balloon Montgolfier brothers' balloons Giffard's airship Dupuy de Loma's airship Henlein's airship Renard and Krebs's airship Zeppelin's airship Contents

Balloon Lorenzo de Gusmao The balloon de Gusmao was made from a paper shell. Filled with heated air obtained from the combustion of combustible material contained in a clay pot, which was placed in a wooden pallet suspended from below. The ball had wings. The first balloon was designed by the Jesuit priest Francesco de La Terzi in 1670, but was carried out by Bartolomeo Lorenzo de Gusmao in 1709.

The balloon Charles Charles was one of the first to fill balloons with hydrogen, which is many times lighter than air and provides more lift than hot air. Hydrogen was obtained by exposing iron filings to sulfuric acid. The paper shell was permeable to hydrogen, so Charles used a light silk fabric coated with a solution of rubber in turpentine. To inflate a balloon with a diameter of 4 m, it took several days and 227 kg of sulfuric acid and 454 kg of iron were used.

In 1784, in his first balloon filled with hydrogen, Blanchard made several flights in France and then in England. Being engaged in aeronautics, Blanchard put a lot of effort into the invention and testing of the parachute. In 1785, during the flight of a balloon at an altitude of 300 meters, Blanchard made the first test of a parachute. Blanchard's balloon

Hot air balloons of the Montgolfier brothers The hot air balloons of the Montgolfier brothers were called "hot air balloons" and are still used today. These are modern hot air balloons that rise due to heated air. The shell is made of light heat-resistant synthetic, very durable fabric. The burners installed in the gondola under the dome and warming up the air in the shell run on propane-butane.

Giffard's airship The hot air balloon always flew at the behest of the wind, and Giffard didn't like it. Then he decided that if a powerful steam engine with a propeller was placed on top of the balloon, it would be possible to fly in any direction. And so the first airship appeared, the movement of which a person could control.

Airship Dupuis de Loma In 1872, an airship with a volume of 3.8 thousand m 3 of the French engineer-shipbuilder Dupuy de Loma with a muscular propeller drive was tested in flight.

Henlein's airship This airship was powered by a gas engine. The gas was taken from the shell, and its consumption was replaced by air supplied to the balloonet. This engine developed a power of 3.6 liters. with. The screw was four-bladed, 4.6 m in diameter. The engine was very heavy (458 kg), and Henlein's airship could not reach high speed.

The airship of Renard and Krebs In 1884 - the airship "France" by C. Renard and Al. Krebs with a volume of approx. 2 thousand m 3. In essence, these flights were the first controlled ones. Ballonets were used to maintain the elongated, streamlined shape of the airship's hull. In addition to rudders, stabilizers began to be included in the airship's plumage design. Along with soft airships, they began to design and then build rigid and non-rigid airships.

Zeppelin Airship Construction of the first Zeppelin airships began in 1899 at a floating assembly plant on Lake Constance in Manzell Bay. It was intended to simplify the launch procedure, since the workshop could sail with the wind. The experimental airship "LZ 1" had a length of 128 m, it was equipped with two Daimler engines with a power of 14.2 hp. (10.6 kV) and balanced by moving the weight between its two gondolas.

Wright brothers aircraft Kudashev aircraft Boeing 747 aircraft Heinkel He 178 aircraft Avro 683 Lancaster aircraft De Havilland DH aircraft Tu-104 aircraft Tu-144 aircraft Concorde aircraft Apollo spaceship Columbia aircraft Aircraft history Contents

The Wright Brothers Flyer is the first internal combustion engine aircraft designed and built by the Wright brothers. On December 17, 1903, in the Kitty Hawk Valley, this aircraft made the world's first flight, in which an aircraft with a man took to the air on engine power, flew forward, and landed at a place with a height equal to the height of the take-off site.

Aircraft Kudashev and a Biplane of wooden construction with front elevator and tail empennage carried out on trusses. The length of the aircraft is 10 m, the wingspan is 9 m, their total area is 34 m 2 . The wing covering is made of rubberized fabric, the Anzani engine with a power of 25.7 kW. Flight weight 420 kg. The flight performed by Kudashev on May 23, 1910 at the Syretsk hippodrome in Kyiv was the first flight of an aircraft of domestic construction in Russia.

Aircraft Boeing 747 American 10-seat passenger aircraft, the first mass-produced all-metal airliner with a cantilever wing, retractable landing gear, semi-monocoque fuselage and autopilot. The first flight took place in 1931.

Aircraft Heinkel He 178 Heinkel He 178 - the world's first aircraft with a turbojet engine. The first flight was made on August 27, 1939. The development of the He 178 aircraft was carried out by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in northern Germany, led by Ernst Heinkel. His main idea was the development of new technologies and the production of new generation aircraft engines.

Aircraft Avro 683 Lancaster Avro 683 Lancaster - British four-engine heavy bomber, which was in service with the Royal Air Force. He made his first sortie in March 1942. The Lancaster became the most famous and most productive night bomber of World War II, flying over 156,000 sorties and dropping over 600,000 tons of bombs.

Aircraft De Havilland DH The De Havilland DH was a British multipurpose bomber, night fighter aircraft of the Second World War, which was in service with the Royal Air Force. The design of the aircraft used a thick three-layer skin with outer layers of plywood and an inner layer of balsa with spruce inserts for strength, pasted over with canvas. Its use made it possible to achieve sufficiently high strength with a sufficiently low weight of the structure.

The Tu-104 Tu-104 is the first Soviet and one of the first jet passenger aircraft in the world to take off. In the period from 1956 to 1958, the Tu-104 was at that time the only operating jet airliner in the world.

Tu-144 aircraft The Tu-144 aircraft is a Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. It is the world's first supersonic airliner, which was used by airlines for commercial transportation.

Aircraft Concorde Concorde - Anglo-French supersonic passenger aircraft, one of two types of supersonic aircraft in commercial service.

The Apollo 11 spacecraft Apollo 11 is a manned spacecraft of the Apollo series, during the flight of which on July 16-24, 1969, the inhabitants of the Earth for the first time in history landed on the surface of another celestial body - the Moon. On July 20, 1969, at 20:17:39 UTC, crew commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Edwin Aldrin landed the ship's lunar module in the southwestern area of ​​the Sea of ​​Tranquility. They remained on the surface of the moon for 21 hours 36 minutes and 21 seconds.

Columbia Columbia is NASA's reusable transport spacecraft and the first Space Shuttle to fly into space. The construction of Columbia began in 1975, and on March 25, 1979, Columbia was commissioned by NASA. During the flight of Columbia STS-9 for the first time a crew of 6 astronauts boarded. Among these six astronauts was Ulf Merbold, he was the first foreigner on an American spacecraft.

Aircraft RQ-4 Global Hawk The RQ-4 Global Hawk is an American strategic reconnaissance UAV. The first flight was made on February 28, 1998 from the US Air Force Base in California. The first Global Hawk was handed over to the US Navy in 2004 and began combat missions in March 2006. The device can patrol for 30 hours at an altitude of up to 18,000 meters. Developed by the American company Teledyne Ryan Aeronauytical.

There are no barriers to human thought! What is the human imagination capable of? In my work, I tried to highlight some of the milestones in the history of the development of aeronautics and aircraft construction, in my opinion, the most significant.

"PASSAROLA" LORENZO GUZMAO

Among the pioneers of aeronautics, whose names have not been forgotten by history, but whose scientific achievements have remained unknown or questioned for centuries, is the Brazilian Bartolommeo Lorenzo.

This is his real name, and he entered the history of aeronautics as a Portuguese priest Lorenzo Guzmao, the author of the Passaroli project, which until recently was perceived as pure fantasy. After a long search in 1971, they managed to find documents that shed light on the events of the distant past.

These events began in 1708, when, having moved to Portugal, Lorenzo Guzmao entered the University of Coimbra and was inspired by the idea of ​​building an aircraft. Having shown extraordinary ability in the study of physics and mathematics, he began with what is the basis of any undertaking: from the experiment. He built several models that became the prototypes of the planned vessel.

In August 1709, the models were shown to the highest royal nobility. One of the demonstrations was successful: a thin egg-shaped shell with a small brazier suspended under it to heat the air was lifted off the ground by almost four meters. In the same year, Guzmao started the Passaroli project. History does not have information about her test. But in any case, Lorenzo Guzmao was the first person who, relying on the study of the physical phenomena of nature, was able to identify the real method of aeronautics and tried to put it into practice.

THE INVENTION OF JOSEPH MONTGOLIER

“Hurry, prepare more silk fabric, ropes, and you will see one of the most amazing things in the world,” received such a note in 1782 Etienne Montgolfier, the owner of a paper manufactory in a small French town, from his older brother Joseph. The message meant that at last they had found what the brothers talked about more than once when they met: a means by which one could rise into the air.

This tool turned out to be a shell filled with smoke. As a result of a simple experiment, J. Montgolfier saw how a fabric shell, sewn in the form of a box from two pieces of fabric, after filling it with smoke, rushed up. Joseph's discovery also captivated his brother. Working together now, they built two more aerostatic machines (as they called their balloons). One of them, made in the form of a ball with a diameter of 3.5 meters, was demonstrated in the circle of relatives and friends.

The success was complete - the shell stayed in the air for about 10 minutes, while rising to a height of almost 300 meters and flying through the air for about a kilometer. Inspired by success, the brothers decided to show the invention to the general public. They built a huge balloon with a diameter of more than 10 meters. Its shell, made of canvas, was reinforced with rope mesh and papered over to increase impermeability.

The demonstration of the hot air balloon took place on the market square of the city June 5, 1783 in the presence of a large number of spectators. The ball filled with smoke rushed up. A special protocol, sealed with the signatures of officials, testified to all the details of the experiment. So for the first time the invention was officially certified, which opened the way aeronautics.

INVENTION OF PROFESSOR CHARLES

The balloon flight of the Montgolfier brothers aroused great interest in Paris. The Academy of Sciences invited them to repeat their experience in the capital. At the same time, a young French physicist, professor Jacques Charles was ordered to prepare and conduct a demonstration of his aircraft. Charles was sure that hot air balloons, as smoky air was then called, was not the best way to create aerostatic lift.

He was well acquainted with the latest discoveries in the field of chemistry and believed that the use of hydrogen promises much greater benefits, since it is lighter than air. But choosing hydrogen to fill the aircraft, Charles faced a number of technical problems. First of all, from what to make a light shell capable of holding volatile gas for a long time.

The mechanics brothers Robey helped him to cope with this problem. They made a material of the required qualities, using a light silk fabric coated with a solution of rubber in turpentine. On August 27, 1783, Charles' aircraft took off from the Champ de Mars in Paris. In front of 300 thousand spectators, he rushed up and soon became invisible. When someone from those present exclaimed: "What is the point in all this ?!" - the famous American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin, who was among the audience, remarked: "And what is the point in the birth of a newborn?" The remark turned out to be prophetic. A "newborn" was born, who was destined for a great future.

FIRST AIR PASSENGERS

The successful flight of Charles' balloon did not stop the Montgolfier brothers from taking advantage of the offer of the Academy of Sciences and demonstrating a balloon of their own design in Paris. In an effort to make the greatest impression, Etienne used all his talent, not without reason he was also considered an excellent architect. built by him balloon was in a certain sense a work of art. Its shell, more than 20 meters high, had an unusual barrel-shaped shape and was decorated on the outside with monograms and colorful ornaments.

The balloon demonstrated to the official representatives of the Academy of Sciences aroused such admiration in them that it was decided to repeat the demonstration in the presence of the royal court. The demonstration took place at Versailles (near Paris) on September 19, 1783. True, the balloon, which aroused the admiration of French academicians, did not live to see this day: its shell was washed away by rain, and it fell into disrepair. However, this did not stop the Montgolfier brothers. Working day and night, they built a ball by the scheduled date, which in its beauty was not inferior to the previous one.

To make an even greater effect, the brothers attached a cage to the balloon, where they put ram, duck and rooster. These were the first passengers in the history of aeronautics. The balloon broke away from the platform and rushed up, and after eight minutes, having traveled four kilometers, safely landed on the ground. The Montgolfier brothers became the heroes of the day, were awarded awards, and all balloons in which smoky air was used to create lift were called hot air balloons from that day on.

THE FIRST HUMAN FLIGHT IN A HOT PAINLER

Each balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers brought them closer to their cherished goal - human flight. The new ball they built was larger: 22.7 meters high, 15 meters in diameter. In its lower part, a circular gallery was attached, designed for two people. In the middle of the gallery was hung a hearth for burning crushed straw. Being under a hole in the shell, he radiated heat, warming the air inside the shell during the flight.

This made it possible to make the flight longer and to some extent manageable. King Louis XVI of France forbade the authors of the project to take personal part in the flight. Such a life-threatening task, in his opinion, should have been entrusted to two criminals sentenced to death. But it sparked violent protests. Pilatra de Rozier, an active participant in the construction of the hot air balloon.

He could not come to terms with the idea that the names of some criminals would enter the history of aeronautics, and insisted on personal participation in the flight. Permission has been granted. Another "pilot" was a fan of aeronautics, the Marquis d "Arland. And on November 21, 1783, a man was finally able to get off the ground and make an air flight. Hot air balloon stayed in the air for 25 minutes, flying about nine kilometers.

FIRST HUMAN FLIGHT ON CHARLIER

In an effort to prove that the future of aeronautics belongs to charliers (the so-called balloons with shells filled with hydrogen), and not to hot air balloons, Professor Charles understood that for this it was necessary to carry out a flight of people on a charlier, and more spectacular than the flight of the Montgolfier brothers. Creating a new balloon, he developed a number of design solutions, which were then used for many decades.

The charlier he built had a mesh that covered the upper hemisphere of the balloon shell, and slings with which a gondola for people was suspended from this mesh. A special vent was made in the shell for the release of hydrogen when the external pressure dropped. To control the flight altitude, a special valve in the shell and ballast stored in the gondola were used. An anchor was also provided to facilitate landing on the ground.

On December 1, 1783, a charlier with a diameter of more than nine meters took off in the Tuileries Park. Professor Charles and one of the brothers Robert, who took an active part in the construction of charliers, went on it. After flying 40 kilometers, they landed safely near a small village. Charles then continued on his journey alone.

Charlière flew five kilometers, climbing to an unprecedented height for that time - 2750 meters. After staying in a transcendental height for about half an hour, the researcher landed safely, thus completing the first flight in the history of aeronautics in a balloon with a shell filled with hydrogen.

AEROSTAT OVER THE ENGLAND

The life of a French mechanic Jean Pierre Blanchard, who made the first flight in a balloon across the English Channel, is notable for being a vivid illustration of a turning point in the development of aeronautics at the end of the 18th century. Blanchard began with the idea of ​​flapping flight.

In 1781, he built an apparatus whose wings were set in motion by the force of his arms and legs. Testing this device suspended on a rope thrown over a block, the inventor climbed to the height of the roof of a multi-storey building with a counterweight of only 10 kilograms. Delighted by the success, he published in the newspaper his thoughts on the possibility of flapping human flight.

Air travel made on the first balloons, and then the search for means of controlling their movement, again returned Blanchard to the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwings, this time as a balloon control. Although Blanchard's first journey in a balloon with paddle oars ended in failure, he did not give up his attempts and became more and more interested in climbing into the sky. Blanchard began performing public flight demonstrations.

When he began flying in England in the autumn of 1784, he had the idea to fly in a balloon over English Channel, thus proving the possibility of air communication between England and France. This historic flight, in which Blanchard and his American friend Dr. Geoffrey participated, took place on January 7, 1785.

A LIFE GIVEN TO AERONAVIATING

The history of aeronautics has been a history of not only victories, but also defeats, and sometimes even dramatic destinies. An example of this is the life of Pilatre de Rozier. a physicist by training, he was one of the first to understand the true meaning of the invention of Joseph Montgolfier.

Rosier stubbornly put forward the idea of ​​manned aeronautics, repeatedly declaring his personal readiness to fly in a balloon. Perseverance and courage led to triumph: Rosier became the first aeronautical pilot, having made a twenty-minute flight on a hot air balloon on November 21, 1783, together with the Marquis d'Arland.

In the new version, the balloon was designed to lift twelve people into the air. And although the Lyon hot air balloon lifted only seven people into the air and touched the ground again 15 minutes later, this was the first flight of a multi-seat balloon in the history of aeronautics. Rosier then sets a new record. In a hot air balloon flight, together with the chemist Proulx, he reaches an altitude of 4000 meters. Having achieved this success, Rosier returns to the idea of ​​long-distance flights.

Now his goal is to fly across the English Channel. He develops a balloon of his own design, combining a conventional spherical balloon and a cylindrical hot air balloon. The combined balloon became known as the rosier. But fate was clearly not kind to Pilatrou de Rozier. Having taken off on June 15, 1785, together with his assistant Romain, Rosier did not even have time to fly to the English Channel. The fire that arose on the rose led to the tragic death of both aeronauts.

FROM DREAM TO PROFESSION

Attempts to implement the controlled movement of balloons, undertaken in France in the early years of the development of aeronautics, did not give positive results. And the interest of the general public in demonstration flights gradually turned aeronautics into a special kind of spectacular events.

But in 1793, that is, ten years after the first flights of people on balloons, the field of their practical application was discovered. The French physicist Guiton de Morvo proposed using tethered balloons to lift observers into the air. This idea was expressed at a time when the enemies of the French Revolution were trying to strangle it.

The technical development of the tethered balloon project was entrusted to the physicist Coutelle. He successfully coped with the task, and in October 1793 the balloon was sent to the army for field trials, and in April 1794 a decree was issued on the organization of the first aeronautical company of the French army. Coutelle was appointed its commander.

The appearance of tethered balloons over the positions of the French troops stunned the enemy: rising to a height of 500 meters, observers could look far into the depths of his defense. Intelligence data was transmitted to the ground in special boxes that descended along a cord attached to a gondola.

After the victory of the French troops, the National Aeronautical School was created by the decision of the Convention. Although it lasted only five years, a start was made: aeronautics became a profession.

Aeronautics in the Russian Empire

For the first time in Russia, a balloon flight without passengers lasting 6 hours was carried out by Frenchman Minel March 30, 1784, which aroused great interest among the Russian population. But already on April 15, 1784 in Russia Catherine II signed " Decree on the prohibition of launching balloons from March 12 to December 12(under pain of paying a fine of 20 rubles)", that is, in the warm season due to the possible danger of fires.

At Alexandra I there was an idea to equip the Russian army with balloons. However, it did not advance further than test flights. And the first Russian aeronaut was staff doctor Kashinsky, who in October 1805 independently flew on a hot air balloon. Researchers also mention a certain Moscow bourgeois Ilyinskaya, who in August 1828 took to the air in a balloon of her own design. But her origin played a cruel joke on her: aeronautics was still considered a noble privilege, and therefore she did not become a heroine of her time. History has not preserved either her name, patronymic, or biography. There were also casualties: in 1847, the aeronaut Lede died, whose balloon was blown away by the wind into Lake Ladoga.

On December 3, 1870, the Russian Aeronautics Society was established. And after five years Dmitry Mendeleev at a meeting of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society, he proposed his own project of a balloon with a hermetically sealed gondola for high-altitude flights. In 1880, on his initiative, an aeronautical department was created at the Russian Technical Society. In addition to Mendeleev, Alexander Radishchev, Ilya Repin, Leo Tolstoy, Viktor Vasnetsov and many others showed their interest in flying in the sky. And in February 1885 in St. Petersburg on the Volkovo field, a personnel military team of aeronauts was organized, which conducted military exercises using balloons.

The 20th century democratized flying as much as possible. Including in the Russian Empire. A specialized magazine and flying club appeared. In 1910 the first All-Russian ballooning festival was held, and in 1924 the All-Union ballooning competitions were held.

From the history of aeronautics: