Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival

September 25 & 26, 2009

Balloon History

1783	Scientist Francois Pilatre de Rozier launches the first hot air balloon. Total flight time - 15 minutes. Passengers - three: a sheep, duck and rooster.
1783	Two months after Pilatre de Rozier's launch, French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier fly for 20 minutes from the center of Paris in history's first balloon flight to carry people.
1785	American John Jefferies and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard co-pilot the first flight across the English Channel. Pilatre de Rozier perishes in his attempt at crossing the same channel.
1793	George Washington is present to watch liftoff as Blanchard becomes the first to pilot a hot air balloon in North America.
1935	A gas helium balloon, the Explorer 2, breaks the altitude record of 72,395 feet (13.7 miles). In proving that humans can survive high altitude pressurization, the flight sets the groundwork for future space travels.
1960	Captain Joe Kittinger breaks dual records: the balloon altitude record of 102,000 feet, as well as the high-altitude parachute jump record. He also breaks the sound barrier with his body.
1978	The Double Eagle II becomes the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman pilot the helium balloon, overcoming the infamous "Big Drop," in which their balloon drops 19,500 feet - 3.7 miles - on Day 5 of the Atlantic crossing. They later land safely in a French barley field.
1981	The Double Eagle V is the first balloon to cross the Pacific Ocean.
1984	Breaking yet another record, Captain Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to pilot a solo transatlantic balloon flight.
1987	Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand are the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, rather than a gas/helium aircraft.
1991	The team of Branson and Lindstrand becomes the first to cross the Pacific in a hot air balloon.
1999	Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones record the first around-the-world hot air balloon flight. It is a nonstop, non-refueled flight lasting 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes.
2002	After attempting the feat five other times, Steve Fossett becomes the first balloonist to fly around the world on a solo flight.

For more information about the festival, or for sponsorship opportunities, call the Pellissippi State Foundation at (865) 694-6400.