Author: Tom D. Crouch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
Looks at the history of balloons and airships, from Archimedes' discovery of the principle of buoyancy to the present day.

Author: David Owen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780785810452
Category : Airships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
There has always been a sense of romanticism attached to balloons, as they glide effortlessly and soundlessly in a world of their own. However, the history of balloon flight is often underestimated, as are the fascinating scientific breakthroughs that can be attributed to it.

Author: Richard Holmes
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307908704
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 567

Get Book Here

Book Description
**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Author: Jean Becker
Publisher: White Star Publishers
ISBN: 9788854404892
Category : Ballooning
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The sky has always exercised a great fascination over the human imagination: it is unreachable and transcedendent . Humans have always envied the aerial freedom that birds enjoy. Since the dawn of time, humans have looked up to the skies and attempted to conquer them, but the path proved to be long and hard. On November 12th, 1783, Jean- Francois Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis of Arlandes, both French, floated 330ft (100m) above the ground in a balloon put together by the Montgolfier brothers. They travelled for over 5 miles (8km) from the starting point. More than 200 years later, modern hot-air balloons are still magically part of our dreams. Thanks to new materials now used in balloon making, it is far less dangerous to go up in a hot air balloon today than it was in the 18th century. Popular ballooning events are held between France and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where each year almost 800 hot-air balloons colour the sky. From the Montgolfier brothers to the pilots of the future, from the epic exploits of Bertrand Piccard and Steve Fossett, who made the first around-the-world navigation in a revolutionary high-tech hot-air balloon, to the 'impossible' shapes of modern airships, this new volume illustrates the present of aerostatistics. AUTHOR: Jean Becker, a professional reporter, has written for the press on France's involvement in recent international conflicts. His personal passions are adventure and hot-air balloons. To his credit, among many other highlights, is his participation in the hot-air balloon expedition to Spitsbergen, Iceland and the winter crossing of Norwegian Lapland. Becker is also a renowned navigator, he has recorded almost 2500 hours of hot-air balloon flight ILLUSTRATIONS: Illustrated.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Airships
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: G. A. Khoury
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521607537
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 564

Get Book Here

Book Description
A unique and indispensable guide to modern airship design and operation, for researchers and professionals working in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Author: a. santos-dumont
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 434

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: Matthew Clark Smith
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN: 0763677329
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

Get Book Here

Book Description
Shares the life of the first female to work as a professional balloonist, making more than sixty ascents until 1819, when she became the first woman to die in an aviation accident.

Author: Anthony Burton
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526719517
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 259

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Looks at the brave (and sometimes foolish) men and women who were responsible for . . . the development of manned flight” (History of War). This book tells the often dramatic and always fascinating story of flight in lighter than air machines. For centuries man had dreamed of flying, but all attempts failed, until in 1782 the Montgolfier brothers constructed the world’s first hot air balloon. The following year saw the first ascent with aeronauts—not human beings but a sheep, a duck and a cockerel. But it was not long before men and women too took to the air and became ever more adventurous. In the 19th century, balloons found a new role in the military. But their use was always limited by the fact that they were at the mercy of the wind. There were numerous attempts at steering balloons, and various attempts were made to power them but it was the arrival of the internal combustion engine that saw the balloon transformed into the airship. The most famous developer of airships was Graf von Zeppelin, and the book tells the story of the use of his airships in both peacetime and at war. There were epic adventures including flights over the poles and for a time, commercial airships flourished—then came the disaster of the Hindenburg. Airships still fly today and ballooning has become a hugely popular pastime. “Entertaining and informative . . . a series of interesting snapshots, giving a flavor of these challenging and daring exploits.” —Flying in Ireland “Absolutely enthralling.” —Books Monthly

Author: Sam Witt
Publisher: Bastion Press, Inc.
ISBN: 9781592630004
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 100

Get Book Here

Book Description
While some choose to sail the seas and oceans seeking trade, adventure, and fame, others are more daring and sail the skies of their worlds. Discover the wonders of flight and the beauty of sailing the winds from many different methods and in many different forms. After all, no one race dominates the skies?save those that need no ships and jealously guard their skies. Like sea captains traversing dangerous waters and unknown menaces, airship captains must face the wrath of the aerial realms in the forms of dragons and other invisible dangers that pose great risk to their airships Airships provides all the rules necessary to bring flying ships into any campaign setting. Construction rules, combat, aerial and 3D movement, and other essential information is all covered. Also included are deck plans and specifications for a number of ships. Airships will bring new heroes to the fore when a village under siege cries "Look! Up in the sky!"