Modern Ballooning

In 1783 the first hot air balloon flew in Paris and this was quickly followed by the first gas balloon. For more than a century, this was the only form of flight, but, by the middle of the twentieth century, there was little activity in lighter than air. The invention of a new type of hot air balloon, using man-made fabrics and a controllable propane burner, has caused a renaissance in balloon flight. It is now one of the most active air sports and there have been many developments including the first balloons to circumnavigate the Earth non-stop.

The speaker Don Cameron is the founder of Cameron Balloons Ltd., which is now the world’s largest manufacturer of balloons of all types. Cameron Balloons produced the only balloons which have succeeded in making a circumnavigation of the Earth, holding records for flights of the longest distance and longest duration in the Earth’s atmosphere. Cameron Balloons also built the world’s first hot-air airship. He is a member of the British Balloon and Airship Club’s main committee, the Royal Aero Club Council and has been UK delegate to the FAI Ballooning Commission for many years.