On the 21 November 1783 the first manned hot air balloon took off from the grounds of the Chateau la Muette in the Bois de Boulogne. Two brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier constructed the balloon from paper and linen and filled it with smoke, believing wrongly, that smoke was the lifting agent rather than hot air.

The blue and gold Montgolfiere was piloted by two French noble men, Pilatre de Rozier and his friend the Marquis d`Arlandes. Rising slowly above the chateau and drifting over the roof tops of Paris, they made a safe landing twenty five minutes later on the Butte-Aux Cailles.

This was the first confirmed flight by human beings, and made de Rozier and d`Arlandes the first aeronauts.

Technology has advanced a long way since then and in 1960 modern hot air ballooning was born with the first flight of a hot air balloon using a practical air heater powered by propane.

The system was designed by an American space engineer called Edward Yost and, combined with new non-rip nylon materials, made lighter than air flight interesting again - and affordable.