Hot air balloon technology. The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers. The first hot-air balloon flown in the Americas was launched from the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia on January 9, 1793 by the French aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard. Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than simply drifting with the wind are known as thermal airships. Early unmanned hot air balloons were used in China. Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han
Hot air balloon ceasing to build balloons in January 2007. The oldest U.S. certified manufacture is now Adams Balloons out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Firefly Balloons, formerly The Balloon Works, is a manufacturer of hot-air balloons in Statesville, North Carolina. Another manufacturer is Head Balloons, Inc. of Helen, Georgia. The major manufacturers in Canada are Sundance Balloons and Fantasy Sky Promotions. Other manufacturers include Kavanagh Balloons of Australia, Schroeder Fire Balloons of Germany, Kubicek Balloons of the Czech Republic, and LLopis Balloons of France. Hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which