History of transport balloons filled with hot air were used in the first half of the 19th century and saw considerable action in several mid-century wars, most notably the American Civil War, where balloons provided observation during the Siege of Petersburg. Apart from some scattered reference in ancient and medieval records, resting on slender evidence and in need of interpretation, the earliest clearly verifiable human flight took place in Paris in 1783, when Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes went in a hot air balloon invented by the Montgolfier brothers. The Wright brothers made the first sustained, controlled and powered heavier-than-air
Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, the first hot air balloon festival in the State of Penang, was mooted to boost tourist arrivals into the city-state. The inaugural event, held at the Polo Ground on 21 and 22 February 2015, was timed to coincide with the Chinese New Year festivities. Since then, the event has grown considerably. Several on-site family-friendly activities have been added into the two-day event, including workshops, photography contests and kite flying. Smaller-scale preludes to the yearly event have been organised as well, such as a mini balloon fiesta at the Esplanade and a balloon display in Butterworth on