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
Hot Air Balloon (rock opera) his balloon down on the shore. Leora climbs in with him. They take off together, never to be seen by anyone again, flying off into the sunrise. Hot Air Balloon (rock opera) Hot Air Balloon is a rock opera written in 1998 by Jon Gutwillig, guitarist and founding member of The Disco Biscuits, a Philadelphia based trance fusion jam band. Hot Air Balloon was first performed on December 31, 1998 at the Silk City Lounge in Philadelphia. The debut was unannounced and fans attending the show were given a pamphlet containing accompanying stories for each of the songs. The opera