Louis Blériot of 1909. Like some of the other prizes offered by the paper, it was widely seen as nothing more than a way to gain cheap publicity: the Paris newspaper "Le Matin" commenting that there was no chance of the prize being won. The English Channel had been crossed by an unmanned hydrogen balloon in 1784 and a manned crossing by Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries followed in 1785. Blériot, who intended to fly across the Channel in his Type XI monoplane, had three rivals for the prize, the most serious being Hubert Latham, a French national of English extraction flying
Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic hot air balloons. Hot air ballooningHot air balloon festival Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic The Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic is an annual, five-day festival held at Ann Morrison Park in Boise, Idaho, USA, featuring hot air balloons. Prior to the balloon classic, an annual balloon event had occurred in Boise since 1974. The Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic was organized by balloonist Scott Spencer and began in 1991, featuring ten balloons. The balloon classic was part of the Boise River Festival, and both events occurred together until 2002 when the Boise River Festival was discontinued. The balloon classic was