Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier the autumn of 1784, but the attempt was not launched until after another Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and American companion, Dr John Jeffries, flew across the English Channel in a hydrogen gas balloon on 7 January 1785, from England to France. Despite several attempts, De Rozier and his companion, Pierre Romain, were not able to set off from Boulogne-sur-Mer until 15 June 1785. After making some progress, a change of wind direction pushed them back to land some 5 km from their starting point. The balloon suddenly deflated (without the envelope catching fire) and crashed near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais, from
Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, the first hot air balloon festival in the State of Penang, was mooted to boost tourist arrivals into the city-state. The inaugural event, held at the Polo Ground on 21 and 22 February 2015, was timed to coincide with the Chinese New Year festivities. Since then, the event has grown considerably. Several on-site family-friendly activities have been added into the two-day event, including workshops, photography contests and kite flying. Smaller-scale preludes to the yearly event have been organised as well, such as a mini balloon fiesta at the Esplanade and a balloon display in Butterworth on