Jean-Pierre Blanchard Lunardi flew from Moorfields to Ware on 15 September 1784. Blanchard's propulsion mechanisms – flapping wings and a windmill – again proved ineffective, but the balloon flew some 115 km from the military academy in Chelsea, landing in Sunbury and then taking off again to end in Romsey. Blanchard took a second flight on 30 November 1784, taking off with an American, Dr John Jeffries, from the Rhedarium behind Green Street Mayfair, London to Ingress in Kent. A third flight, again with Jeffries, was the first flight over the English Channel, taking about 2½ hours to travel from England to
Hot air ballooning Great Race" (1965 Comedy), the opening sequence features a hot air balloon competition between The Great Leslie and Professor Fate. "Five Weeks in a Balloon", published in 1863, was Jules Verne first acclaimed novel which made him famous and propelled his career as a novelist. The heroes travel across Africa from Zanzibar to Saint-Louis in a gas balloon, not a hot air balloon. In "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1962) by Ray Bradbury, a hot air balloon with the Dust Witch is sent to find out and mark the location of the boys' homes. In Phillip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark