International flight 1785, when Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries crossed the English Channel in a hot air balloon. It took more than a century for the first heavier-than-air object to repeat this process: Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel on July 25, 1909, winning a "Daily Mail" prize of £1,000. Aviation technology developed during World War I, with aviation between the World Wars seeing the development of international commercial flights. There was a combination of aircraft types which included airships and airplanes. The first airline to operate international flights was Chalk's Ocean Airways, established 1917, which operated scheduled seaplane services from Florida
Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic Classic consists of three different balloon events: The Alabama Jubilee Hot-Air Balloon Classic, one of the oldest hot-air balloon races in the mid-South, started in Decatur, AL in 1978 with competition among 17 balloonists from Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. It was a showcase for the new Decatur balloon, one of the first to represent a city, and an event to kick off Alabama's tourism season. The Jubilee now draws about 60 pilots from 20 states for two days of friendly competition during the annual Memorial Day holiday weekend. The continued popularity of the Alabama Jubilee prompted the