|
Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 10 general entries.
Special Topics
|
 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Hot Air Balloons
| In 1783, the first hot-air balloon got off the ground! Who launched it? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. The Montgolfier brothers worked in a family run paper factory at Annonay, France. They experimented by throwing scraps of paper into a fireplace, which could then be seen leaving the chimney. At first, they mistakenly concluded that smoke, and not hot air, had lifted the paper...
| The first hot-air balloon passengers were animals. Who were these lucky critters? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
a sheep, a duck, and a hen. The flight lasted eight minutes and reached a maximum height of 500 meters. Louis XVI, the King of France, witnessed the flight in Versailles on 19 September 1783. The animals landed, unharmed, 3.5 kilometers from their starting point.
Pilatre de Rozier and Francois D'Arlandes. Two months after the flight of the animals, Pilatre de Rozier, a physics professor, and the Marquis Francois D'Arlandes, a major in the infantry, became the first humans to fly above Paris. The flight lasted about 28 minutes, at an altitude of roughly 1000 meters.
| The passenger compartment of a hot-air balloon is known as the 'basket', or 'gondola'. What material is the 'basket' generally made of? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
wicker. Wicker works best because it is sturdy, flexible, and lightweight. It needs to be flexible for landings, so passengers don't feel the brunt of the impact! The basket floor is generally made of wood.
| The heart of the hot-air balloon is called the 'burner'. What gas is used to heat the air that fills up the balloon? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
propane. The propane is stored in compressed liquid form, in lightweight cylinders. When the burner is started, the propane flows out quickly through hoses to a heating coil around the burner, and is ignited by a pilot light. As the flame burns, the metal in the tubing heats up. This heats up the propane flowing through it and changes it to a gas.
| A hot-air balloon is equipped with several instruments. What is the name for the vertical speedometer? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
variometer. The altimeter measures height above sea level. The pyrometer measures the temperature at the top of the balloon's envelope. The compass tells which direction the balloonist is heading..
| Traditionally, when a hot-air balloon lands after a flight, what beverage is shared with the passengers and crew? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
champagne. It is written that back in 1783, local farmers were very suspicious of the 'fiery dragon' descending from the sky into their vineyards. To placate them and celebrate the first flight, the pilots offered champagne!
| 'The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon...It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon...We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky...For we can fly..we can fly...Up, up, and away...' Who sang this hit song from 1967? | Hot-Air Balloons!
|
The Fifth Dimension . Thanks for playing...I hope you did well!
|
Fun Trivia | 
Quizzes | 
Games
| 
People | 
Services | 
Help | 
Me
