Montgolfier brothers Montgolfier brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) were paper manufacturers from Annonay, in Ardèche, France best known as inventors of the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. They launched the first piloted ascent, carrying Étienne. Joseph Michel also invented the self-acting hydraulic ram (1796), Jacques Étienne founded the first paper-making vocational school and the brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper. The Montgolfier brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne were born into a family of paper manufacturers founded in 1534 in Annonay, in Ardèche, France. Their parents
Hot air balloon the special balloon envelope shape do not contribute to the balloon's ability to stay aloft. The second largest manufacturer of hot air balloons in the world is Ultramagic company, based in Spain, which produces from 80 to 120 balloons per year. Ultramagic can produce very large balloons, such as the N-500 that accommodates as many as 27 persons in the basket, and has also produced many balloons with special shapes, as well as cold-air inflatables. In the USA Aerostar International, Inc. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota was North America's largest balloon manufacturer and a close second in world manufacturing before