Excerpt from Balloons, Airships and Flying Machines That night of 1782, therefore, marks the first great step ever made towards the conquest of the sky. But to better understand the history of Aeronautics - a word that means the sailing of the air - We must go back far be yond the days of the Montgolfier brothers. For in all times and in all ages men have wanted to fly. David wished for the wings of a dove to fly away and be at rest, and since his time, and before it, how many have not longed to take flight and sail away in the boundless, glorious realms above, to explore the fleecy clouds, and to float free in the blue vault Of heaven. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Balloons, Airships, and Flying Machines by Gertrude Bacon presents an account of the evolution of aviation from the first balloons to the inventions of the early 20th century. It's a well-planned and incredibly written narrative of ballooning and early aviation, which makes it easily understandable for any reader. Gertrude Bacon (1874 – 1949) was an aeronautical pioneer. She accomplished a significant number of "firsts" for women in aviation. Gertrude promoted aeronautics through her writing and encouraged commercial and popular flying as fields for women. Content includes: The Origin of Ballooning The Coming of the Gas Balloon Famous Balloon Voyages of the Past The Balloon as a Scientific Instrument The Balloon in Warfare The Airship The Flying Machine Conclusion

Looks at the history of balloons and airships, from Archimedes' discovery of the principle of buoyancy to the present day.

In the 21st century - the age of the budget airline - where quick and reliable air travel is available to a large segment of society, it seems hard to comprehend that it is less than 250 years since the first human took to the skies. Although the wing of the bird seemed like the most obvious natural mechanism to attempt replicate, it was actually contained hot air, as demonstrated by the Montgolfiers and their balloon, that gave birth to the era human aviation. Since the first manned balloon flight in 1783, developments have come thick and fast, the airship, the aeroplane, and finally the space shuttle. This reprint of a classic publication by Gertrude Bacon, one of the earliest female aeronauts, details the development of aviation from the first balloons to the inventions of the early 20th century. Complete with a brand new introduction and containing chapters such as 'The Coming of the Gas Balloon', 'The Balloon in Warfare', and 'The Airship', it is a wonderful work for anyone with an interest in the lighter-than-air period of aeronautics.