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 an open flame near the gas. All modern Roziere balloons now use helium as a lifting gas. Solar balloons are hot air balloons that use just solar energy captured by a dark envelope to heat the air inside. Hot air balloon can be steered to a limited degree by changing the altitude of the flight. Wind in the northern hemisphere tends to turn right due to coriolis effect as the altitude increases. To help ensure the safety of pilot and passengers, a hot air balloon may carry several pieces of safety equipment. To relight the burner if the pilot light