First in Flight

Jean Pierre Blanchard, born July 4, 1753 in Petit Andelys, France, was a French balloonist who made the first aerial crossing of the English Channel, and made the first balloon flight in England, Germany, Belgium, Poland, and North America. In the 1770’s, he worked on the designs of heavier-than-air flying machines based on rowing in air currents with oars and tiller. After witnessing demonstrations by the Montgolfier Brothers, he took up ballooning.

On January 9, 1793, under the observation of President George Washington, Blanchard made the first balloon flight in North America. He ascended from the Washington Prison Yard in Philadelphia to a height of about 5,800 feet, and landed in Gloucester County, New Jersey.

Concerning the flight, Blanchard stated, “My ascent was perpendicular and so easy,’ he said, ‘that I had time to enjoy the different impressions which agitated so many sensible and interesting persons who surrounded the scene of my departure, and to salute them with my flag, which was ornamented on one side with the armoric bearings of the United States, and on the other with the three colors so dear to the French nation. Accustomed as I long have been to the pompous scenes of numerous assemblies, yet I could not help being surprised and astonished when, elevated at a certain height over the city, I turned my eyes towards the immense number of people who covered the open places, the roofs of the houses, the steeples, the streets and the roads, over which my flight carried me in the free space of the air. What a sight!”

He considered himself an aeronautical scientist, so during the flight, Blanchard filled six bottles “with that atmospherical air wherein I was floating,” he timed his pulse with his pocket watch, weighed a lodestone at the greatest altitude to compare to its weight on the ground, he made notes on the pressure and air temperature, and observations on the weather.

Preparing to descend, he packed away his instruments, cleared away decorations from the outside of the basket, released some hydrogen from the balloon, and emptied excess ballast bags. He steered the balloon to a safe landing in a field near the town of Woodbury, NJ., 46 minutes after taking off, having traveled approximately 15 miles. Knowing little English, he used a letter of passport that bore the name of President George Washington, to make inroads with local farmers to assist him in transporting him, and his balloon, back to Philadelphia.

Blanchard remined in the United States seeking his fortune through ballooning in the cities of Charleston, Boston, and New York, ultimately he returned to France in 1797. Unfortunately, Blanchard suffered a heart attack in February 1808, falling more than 50 feet, while conducting a flight over the Hague. He never recovered from the heart attack and fall resulting in his death on March 7, 1809.

It’s been more than two centuries since Blanchard’s historic first flight, despite his lack of financial success, he did succeed in bringing manned flight to the attention of the public.

Hot air ballooning and manned flight continued to develop from the efforts of the first generation of aeronauts like Jean Pierre Blanchard. In 1960, Paul Yost, along with 3 other individuals, formed Raven Industries resulting in the development of the modern, propane gas burner hot air balloon. In 1963, Paul Yost and Don Piccard, flew the hot air balloon named “The Channel Champ” over the English Channel proving the practicality of hot air ballooning.

Now, many local ballooning clubs hold events all over the United States. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which takes place each year in early October, is the largest hot air balloon festival in America.