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

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

3. Balloons Montgolfier Brothers made a balloon
Took off from Paris in 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

4. 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”

5. 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!

6. 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!

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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!

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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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)

21. 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 – mph (speed of sound!)

22. The Modern Era (1940s-Present)
Business
Recreation

23. Businesses use airships!

24. Recreational Balloon Shows

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