Montgolfière

"Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world."

―Joseph Montgolfier to his brother, Étienne.^[src]^-[m]

ACUDB - Montgolfier Flight — The Montgolfière

The Montgolfière is the first recorded hot air balloon and the first successful human-carrying flight technology,^[1] invented in the 1780s by French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. The first version of the Montgolfière was a balloon made of silk lined with paper and held together with buttons.^[2]

History[]

Ideas and prototypes[]

As early as 1777, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier noticed that laundry dried over a fire formed billowing air pockets, but it was not until 1782, when thinking about the recent attempted Siege of Gibraltar, that he wondered if the force that made the sparks drift upward from the fire could be harnessed to enable future troops to attack targets by air.^[2]

Though misunderstanding the true mechanics of the force, assuming that burning created a special gas he dubbed "Montgolfier gas" and not that heating air made it lighter, the idea was sound. Joseph built a box-like chamber out of thin wood and covered it with taffeta. When he burned paper beneath the device, it quickly rose to the ceiling. He wrote to Jacques-Étienne, requesting a supply of taffeta and cordage, and together they built a second fabric-covered craft, scaled up by three. It was tested on 14 December 1782 and the lifting force was so powerful that the brothers lost control of the vessel, which floated over a mile before landing, where it was destroyed by passersby.^[2]

Public demonstrations[]

The first public demonstration of their hot air balloon was held on 4 June 4 1783, in Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries. The balloon's flight lasted ten minutes, reached an altitude of approximately 6,000 feet, and covered 1.2 miles. On 9 September 1783, in Versailles,^[2] under the patronage of the French Academy of Sciences,^[3] a balloon was flown with the first living beings to understand the effect of flight upon them, its occupants were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were in attendance.^[2]

In October of the same year, Étienne became the first human in flight. On 21 November, the first free flight with humans was conducted,^[2] with Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes lifting off with a crowd of curious onlookers gathered to witness the scene.^[3] The first woman, Élisabeth Thible, flew in June 1784.^[2]

Dorian-de la Serre rendezvous[]

"It certainly is lovely up here. You should see the view."

―Élise de la Serre to Arno Dorian while flying on a Montgolfière, 1792.^[src]^-[m]

On 31 October 1792, following the assassination of the French Templar Marie Lévesque, French Assassin Arno Dorian met with Élise de la Serre to escape, only to be chased by a large group of guards to a presentation of a Montgolfière. Though the professor presenting the Montgolfière explained that older models like it were "entirely at the mercy of the breeze" and the current winds were far too strong for a ride to be safe, Élise climbed into the basket while Arno cut the ropes holding the balloon down.^[4]

Élise drifted away while Arno chased down the balloon on the rooftops, being shot at by snipers along the way. Eventually, he managed to jump aboard, with the pair sharing a romantic moment aboard the vessel. The morning after, Arno woke up alone in the crashed balloon.^[4]

Franco-Prussian War[]

During the Franco-Prussian War, as Paris was besieged by the Prussian army, the Assassin Simeon Price used a hot-air balloon to travel to Tours where the Templars operated. Price was accompanied by Lebrun, a Templar who was in possession of the Ankh, a Piece of Eden. As the Templar tried to kill him, the Assassin got the upper hand and threw him from the ballon. Later, Price was forced to jump from the basket as the balloon went down quickly.^[5]