Lighter-Than-Air Craft Conestoga Valley High School Aviation Technology

Today’s Topics History of Hot Air Balloons History of Dirigibles Lighter-Than-Air… 1940s to present

Balloons Montgolfier Brothers made a balloon Took off from Paris in 1783 and went 5 miles Jean-Francois de Rozier and Francois d’Arlandes were the first humans to fly Sent animals up to test! Air was heated by a wood fire

Balloons A scientific discovery helped to continue flight innovations Scientist Henry Cavendish isolated Hydrogen in 1766 He noted it was lighter than air and called it “negative weight”

Balloons Jacque Charles created the first Hydrogen-filled balloon Flew 10 days after Montgolfier! Development of both Charles’ and Montgolfiers’ balloons came from competitive nature of discovery!

Balloons What were some of the issues? Montgolfier’s Hot Air Balloon Hot air from wood burning Charles’ Hydrogen Balloon Hydrogen is dangerous Both Balloons The balloons couldn’t steer!

Balloons What did these discoveries do? Scientific Research Detailed understanding of the atmosphere and weather Technical Innovations Discovering ways to steer and power the balloons

Dirigibles Work in steam-powered engines helped Henri Giffard’s research Created the first sustained, powered, steerable lighter-than-air flight in 1852 Flew 15 miles

Balloons & Dirigibles American Civil War – 1861-1865 Balloons and Dirigibles used for a good view of opposing forces – both Union and Confederate armies used balloons

Dirigibles Scientific discoveries continued to impact technological development In late 1800s, scientists in all major countries began to study the Physics of Flight more than ever before Lift Drag Aerodynamics

Dirigibles German count Ferdinand von Zeppelin designed and developed Rigid Airship – the LZ1 Rigid vs. Non- Rigid Airships The LZ1 took off on a lake!

Dirigibles Zeppelin became the leader of lighter-than-air flight, creating several versions of the LZ airship.

Dirigibles Zeppelin airships were powered by Daimler internal-combustion engines Used for military work in WWI – doing both reconnaissance and bombing missions Also used for civilian travel

More Technological Innovations First Atlantic Crossing in the R34 (1919) First around-the-world flight in the Graf Zeppelin (1929)

The end of lighter-than-air? Two Disasters scared people at the same time as airplane innovations were picking up the pace Winged-Foot Express (1919) Caught fire crashed into bank 2 Survivors- 13 fatalities The Hindenburg (1937) Caught fire docking 62 Survivors-35 fatalities

The Modern Era (1940s-Present) Cold-War Era – Everything was a race between countries Testing done for future space travel Used balloons to test altitude and atmospheric pressure in 1950s

Colonel Joseph W Kittinger Air Force Veteran commissioned to do top secret research for the U.S. He later served in Vietnam and was captured as a POW for almost 1 year

Kittinger’s Records Project Man-High (1960) Project Excelsior (1959) Testing Automatic Parachutes in altitude G force 22 times gravity Project Man-High (1960) Highest Balloon Ascent Highest Parachute Jump Longest Freefall Fastest Speed by Human in Atmosphere

Kittinger’s Records Statistics 102,800 ft / 19.4 miles above sea level Free fall – 4 minutes and 38 seconds Space to Desert – 14 minutes Fastest Speed – 614 mph (Mach .9) Kittinger

Kittinger’s Records More Recently… 1984 – First solo Atlantic crossing in a gas balloon (in just 4 days!) Also stands as longest gas balloon distance flight (3543 miles)

Felix Baumgartner Statistics Oct. 14, 2012 128,000 ft / 24 miles above sea level Free fall – 4 minutes and 22 seconds Space to Ground – 9:09 minutes Fastest Speed – 830+ mph (speed of sound!)

The Modern Era (1940s-Present) Business Recreation

Businesses use airships!

Recreational Balloon Shows

Ballooning Future Lockheed Martin Hybrid Airship No need for infrastructure to land Generates lift from Helium and Aerodynamics 47,000 lbs of payload +- 20 Ton 1,400 mile range Cruise speed of 60 knots ( 70 mph)