This is a Replica/interpretation of the Montgolfier brothers' balloon, Circa 1783, of first manned flight.

LANTERN NOTE: This project was initially designed as a replica hot air balloon as a fun side project. The real discovery here was that the Balloon itself could function as a giant LANTERN- we have since used it for many interiors with big lights inside and the whole Balloon lights up like a Japanese lantern. Pictured here are the original replica photos.

NOTE ON CUSTOMIZATION:
We include this project to show the diversity of projects that we have done- If your vision is different than what is pictured in the photographs please remember that we can customize any project to your specifications.

MATERIALS & DIMENSIONS

BALLOON
-Constructed with a light steel wire frame
-Covered in an embroidered cloth of alternating color patterns, with tassel on two lower tiers.
-Simple 5 bulb chandelier (as comical fuel source).

BASKET
-Constructed with a light steel wire frame
-Covered with lightweight pine slats re-purposed from an antique Venetian blind.
-Connected to balloon with 1" diameter hemp rope
-3/4" thick pine board floor plate in basket.

HISTORY-

The brothers Joseph-Ralf and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier developed a hot air balloon in Annonay, Ardeche, France. They demonstrated it publicly on September 19, 1783, with an unmanned flight lasting 10 minutes. After experimenting with unmanned balloons and flights with animals, the first balloon flight with humans aboard—a tethered flight—performed on or around October 15, 1783, by Étienne Montgolfier who made at least one tethered flight from the yard of the Reveillon workshop in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Later that same day, Pilatre de Rozier became the second human to ascend into the air, to an altitude of 24 m (79 ft) which was the length of the tether.

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