The successful demonstration of unmanned balloons by the Montgolfier and Charles brothers inspired hope for a speedy solution to the eternal dream of the romantics of "aerial flying" - human flight. About two weeks before the launch of the Montgolfier brothers' balloon with animals, which was carried out on September 19, 1783, the young physicist Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier asked the Academy of Sciences to entrust the honor of flying on it, however, it was resolutely rejected.
Pilatre de Rozier was born in Metz on March 30, 1756. Wanting to become a surgeon, his parents sent him to study at a local hospital. Quickly realizing that medicine is not his vocation, the young man leaves the hospital and gets a job in a pharmacy, where he could put on various experiments, and independently studies physics. Then he moved to Paris and opened a course of public lectures in physics there. Soon he attracted attention as a talented experimental scientist, and was appointed curator of the physico-chemical cabinet belonging to the king's brother.
Pilatre de Rozier decided not to give up - the idea of flying in a balloon completely took possession of him. Having sufficient connections in the Academy of Sciences, and with the support of the Montgolfier brothers, he achieved the allocation of a small amount of money for the construction of an experimental balloon on which it was possible to make ascents on a leash. On October 10, such a ball was made. It had an oval shape, its height was about 24 m, the largest diameter was 15.5 m, and its volume was 2358 m3. To accommodate the pilot, a gallery made of grapevine was attached to the balloon. It was about a meter wide, and around the outer perimeter it was surrounded by a side about a meter high. A wire basket was inserted into a hole in the middle of the gallery, which served as a hearth for burning straw or other combustible material. The balloon was richly decorated with monograms and emblems.
On Wednesday, October 15th, Pilatre de Rozier made the first ever ascent on a leash. According to him, while doing so, he did not experience any inconvenience. This experiment refuted the thesis of some scientists who argued that as the "gas" cools, the rate of descent will be excessive and dangerous for the aeronaut. However, the ball landed so softly that its shape didn't even change. And when Pilatre de Rozier jumped out of the gondola, the apparatus rose a meter from the ground. Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier prepared a report on this matter and sent it to the Academy of Sciences. It, in particular, said: “… being in the gallery of the new balloon, the city of Pilatre de Rozier was raised to a height of approximately 32.5 m, where it was held (for 4 min 25 sec. - Auth.) By leashes. It seemed to us that he feels himself the master of the situation, now going down, now rising on the ball, depending on the magnitude of the flame that he supported in the hearth."
On Friday, October 17th, the experiment was repeated with a large crowd of people. The excitement of the audience was enormous. Pilatre de Rozier climbed to the same height, but the wind was so strong that the balloon began to hammer to the ground, and it was urgently lowered. Further attempts to ascend had to be stopped.
On October 19, 1783, at half past four, in the presence of two thousand spectators, the apparatus was filled with "gas", and Pilatre de Rozier took his place in the gallery. This time, the ascent was carried out to a height of 70 m, where Pilatre de Rozier remained for six minutes without maintaining a fire in the furnace, and then landed softly. After a while, Pilatre de Rozier went up a second time.
The Montgolfier brothers wrote: “The experiment that took place the next Sunday proved even more convincingly that it was possible to regulate the upward and downward movement of the balloon. To eliminate unnecessary weight, the part of the gallery on which the city of Pilatre was located was removed, and for balance, a basket with a load (50 kg - Auth.) Was tied on the opposite side. The ball quickly rose to a height that the length of the ropes allowed (23.8 m - Author). After holding on to it for some time (8, 5 min. - Author), he began to descend as a result of the ceasefire. At this moment, a gust of wind carried the ball to the trees of the neighboring garden; At the same time, Pilatre resumed the fire, and when the ropes that held him were released, the ball quickly rose, and without the slightest difficulty was transferred to the garden of Revelion."
The length of the ropes was increased, and the balloon was again prepared for ascent. This time Pilatre de Rozier took with him a passenger - physicist Giroud de Villiers, who became the second person in the world to ascend in a tethered balloon. Giroud de Villiers recalled: “Within a quarter of an hour I ascended to an altitude of 400 feet, where I stayed for about six minutes. My first impression was delight in the skillful actions of the companion. His knowledge, courage and dexterity in handling the firebox led me to admiration. Then I began to contemplate the boulevard from the gates of Saint-Antoine to Saint-Martin, strewn with people who seemed to me a bright strip of color. Looking into the distance, I noted that Montmartre is below us. It is a pity that I did not take a telescope with me."
“Encouraged by the results,” the Montgolfier brothers wrote further, “that eliminated the idea of the danger of such experiments, the physicist Giroud de Villiers and Major Laur the Marquis d'Arland sequentially rose in the ball. It should be noted that during these experiments the balloon rose to a height of 125 m, i.e. one and a half times higher than the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral, and that Mr. Pilatre de Rozier, thanks to his energy and dexterity, perfectly controlled the firebox, forcing the ball to rise and fall until it touched the ground and rise again, in a word, told him the movements that he wanted.
François-Laur d'Arland was born in 1742 into a noble family living on his estate in Vivare, 25 km from Annone. Enrolled in the Jesuit College de Tournon, he met the young Joseph Montgolfier. Soon, this acquaintance develops into a real friendship.
After graduating from college, François-Laur's parents choose a military career for him, and the young man leaves for Calais, where his military unit was located. He dreams of leaving for the New World, but the higher interests of the family and poor health impede this desire, although his brothers go overseas.
At thirty-eight years of age, with the rank of major, François-Laur retires and settles in Paris. Here he is fond of astronomy and physics, often meets with Lavoisier and Franklin. It was a real shock for him to learn that a childhood friend, Joseph Montgolfier, launched a balloon in the sky of Annona.
Feeling confident in his abilities, having “tasted the sky,” Pilatre de Rozier began to strive with even greater persistence to achieve a free flight in a balloon. The Montgolfier took a wait-and-see attitude in this matter, not taking responsibility for the pilot's life, and the Academy of Sciences obsequiously awaited a signal from the king. Louis XVI, feeling the hesitation of the inventors of the balloon, and not wanting to risk the lives of his loyal subjects, was in no hurry to make a decision, watching from the sidelines the unfolding discussion of supporters and opponents of this idea. In the end, he agreed to send two criminals on death row as an experiment, promising to pardon them in case of a favorable outcome of the case.
Perfectly understanding the importance of the upcoming event, Pilatre de Rozier was deeply outraged by the king's decision to entrust this historic mission to criminals. He stated that "people thrown out of the confines of society" are not worthy of the honor of being the first aeronaut. The position of Pilatre de Rozier was actively supported by the Marquis d'Arland. Being a member of the highest circles of society, he decided to act through the Duchess Polignac, educator of the "children of France", reputed for her progressive views and enjoyed great influence at court. She accepted the request of the Marquis with understanding and arranged for him an audience with Louis XVI, at which d'Arland, convincing the king of the safety of the flight, proposed his candidacy as a companion to Pilatre de Rozier.
Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, surprised to learn that criminals should be flying on their apparatus, cast aside their doubts and publicly expressed their protest. At the same time, the king's heir got involved in the matter, who really wanted the balloon to be lifted from his estate. The king could not withstand the united pressure and allowed Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arland to fly. The launch date was set for November 21, 1783.
The balloon was built at the Revelion factory. The design and manufacturing technology were worked out and did not raise doubts. The apparatus had an ovoid shape, its height was 21.3 m, and the maximum diameter was 14 m. From the bottom, the balloon ended with a sleeve 5 m in diameter, to which were attached a gallery made of willow vine and a metal hearth suspended by chains. The surface of the balloon was decorated with monograms, faces of the sun and various emblems of the greatness and glory of France.
On November 21, the balloon was delivered to the young Dauphin's small castle La Mueette, located in the western part of Paris in the Bologna Forest, and prepared for launch. Here it is appropriate to give an excerpt from the story of the famous science fiction writer of our time Ray Bradbury "Icarus Montgolfier Wright": filled with a flickering current of heated air rising over the fire. Silently, like a dormant deity, this light shell bent over the fields of France, and everything straightens out, expands, filled with hot air, and will soon break free. And with her, his thought and the thought of his brother will ascend into the blue quiet expanses and float, silent, serene, among the cloudy expanses in which still untamed lightning sleeps. There, in the abyss, not marked on any map, in the abyss, where neither a bird song nor a human cry can be heard, this ball will find peace. Perhaps in this voyage he, Montgolfier, and with him all people will hear the incomprehensible breath of God and the solemn tread of eternity."
The start was given at noon with a completely unthinkable crowd of people, it seemed that all of Paris and its surroundings gathered to watch this incredible event. When the balloon was already in the air, but still tethered, the old story repeated itself, a strong gust of wind tore the shell at its bottom. The balloon had to be pulled to the pedestal for repairs, which delayed its departure by almost two hours. Finally, at 1.54 pm, the balloon with the pilots on board was released from its leash and went up.
The picture of the free flight of people was so fantastic, incredible, beyond the head that the crowd, as if afraid to frighten this vision, frozen in some kind of mystical horror, silently watched the receding balloon. The old marshal Villeroi, who was watching the experience from her bedroom window, sighed sadly: “Well, the matter is clear! In the end, they will uncover the secret of immortality. Only I will be dead by that time!"
This is what the Marquis d'Arland wrote in his letter to Fauge de Saint-Fon, recalling the events of that flight: “We rose on November 21, 1783 at about two o'clock. G. Rozier was on the west side of the balloon, and I was on the east. The northwest wind was blowing. The car, as I was later told, rose majestically, and turned in such a way that Mr. Rosier was in front of the heading, and I was behind.
I was surprised by the silence and lack of movement that reigned among the audience, probably embarrassed by a strange sight that they could not believe. I was still peering down when I heard Mr. Rosier cry:
- You are not doing anything and the ball is not moving!
“Forgive me,” I replied, and quickly threw a bundle of straw into the fire, stirring it slightly. Looking down, I saw that La Mueette had already disappeared from sight, and to my surprise we were hovering over the river.
- Passy, Saint-Germain, Saint-Denis, Chevreuse! I shouted, recognizing familiar places.
- If you stare down and do nothing, then we will soon bathe in this river, - was heard in response, - add fire, my dear friend, add fire!
We continued our journey, but instead of crossing the river, we began to slowly drift towards the Palace of the Invalides, then we returned to the river, then turned to the Congress Palace.
- The river is very difficult to cross - I remarked to my companion.
“It only seems so,” he replied, “but you are not doing anything for it. I suppose that you are much braver than me and are not afraid to tumble out of here.
I quickly interfered with the fire, then grabbed the pitchfork, threw another portion of straw at it, and felt how we were briskly drawn to heaven.
“Finally we started to move,” I said.
“Yes, we are flying,” my companion replied.
At that moment, a sound was heard from above the balloon, the character of which left no doubt that something had burst. I tried to make out the place, but I couldn't see anything. My companion also tried to see where the sound came from. Suddenly I felt a jolt, but I did not understand its origin, as I was looking upward. The ball began to descend slowly.
- Are you dancing there? - I shouted to my companion.
“I’m standing still,” came the reply.
- Good. I hope it was a gust of wind that will carry us away from the river - I said. Looking down to determine where we were, I found that we were sailing between the Military School and the Palace of the Invalids.
“We are making progress,” said Mr. Rosier.
- Yes, we are traveling.
- Let's work, let's work! - said Mr. Rozier.
There was another unpleasant sound that I assumed sounded like a rope breaking. This thought prompted me to carefully examine the interior of our house. What I saw did not make me happy - the southern part of the sphere was full of holes of different sizes.
- We have to go down! I shouted.
- Why?
- Look! I replied and grabbed a wet sponge to extinguish a small fire that was visible in one of the holes within my reach. To top it off, I saw that the fabric was starting to lag behind the hoop of the truss.
- We must go down! I repeated.
He looked down.
- We are over Paris! - said Mr. Rozier
“It doesn't matter,” I replied. “Just look! This is dangerous? Are you holding up well?
- Yes!
Once again I examined my side and made sure that there is nothing to be afraid of yet. With a wet sponge, I walked over all the ropes that I could reach. They were all well anchored to the ball truss. Only two of them broke off.
“We can cross Paris,” I said confidently.
During all this time, we quickly rushed over the rooftops. By adding fire in the furnace, we easily went up. I looked down and it seemed to me that we were moving towards the towers of Saint-Soulpe, but a new gust of wind forced the ball to change direction and carried it south. I looked to the left and saw a forest that - I hoped - said that we were not far from Luxembourg (South-eastern suburb of Paris. - Auth.). We were crossing the boulevard when I noticed that the ball was losing altitude again.
- We must go down! I shouted.
But the fearless Rosier, who never lost his head and who knew more than me, rejected my attempt to land. I threw straws into the fire, and we went up a little. The ground was close, we flew between two factories.
Before touching the ground, I climbed onto the rail of the gallery, grabbed the inclined truss with both hands and jumped to the ground. Looking back at the balloon, I expected to see it inflated, but unexpectedly quickly it flattened on the ground. I rushed to look for Mr. Rosier and saw the sleeve of his shirt, and then himself, getting out from under the pile of linen that covered my comrade-in-arms."
During the flight, the balloon rose to an altitude of about 1000 m, stayed in the air for 45 minutes, and during this time flew 9 km. The landing took place near the town of Butte-au-Cai. Rescuing the balloon from the cheering crowd that was about to rip the shell to shreds for souvenirs, it was quickly folded up and transported to the Revelion factory where it was built.
The correspondent of Moskovskiye Vedomosti wrote: “They were not very tired, but they were sweating a lot from the heat and needed a change of underwear. Pilatre de Rozier still needed a new coat, since the coat he had taken off on the way had been torn to pieces by the spectators - in memory of the historic flight."
I would like to quote another curious document left by the participants in this unforgettable event: “Today, November 21, 1783, at the Château de la Muette, Mr. Montgolfier's aerostatic machine was tested.
The sky was covered with clouds in many places, and clear in others. The northwest wind was blowing. At 12 hours 8 minutes in the afternoon, a shot was heard announcing the start of filling the car. Within 8 minutes, in spite of the wind, it was full to the end and was ready to rise, as Monsieur d'Arland and Monsieur Pilatre de Rozier were already at the gallery. Initially, the intention was to let the machine rise in a tethered state to test it, determine the exact load it can carry, and also see if everything is sufficiently prepared for such an important upcoming experience. But the car, caught up in the wind, did not rise vertically, but rushed towards one of the garden passages; the ropes holding her back, acting too hard, caused many sheath breaks, one of which was over 6 feet long. The car was returned to the stage and repaired in less than 2 hours.
After a new filling, it was launched at 1 hour 54 minutes in the afternoon … The audience saw how it rose in the most majestic way. When she reached about 250 feet in height, the brave travelers took off their hats and sent greetings to the audience. Then the audience could not refrain from expressions of mixed feelings of anxiety and admiration.
Soon the balloonists were out of sight. The car, hovering over the horizon and presenting the most beautiful view, climbed at least 3 thousand feet, where it remained visible as before. She crossed the Seine below the Conference gates and, flying further between the Military School and the House of Invalids, was in full view of the whole of Paris. The travelers, satisfied with this experience, not wanting to delay the flight, decided to go down, but seeing that the wind was carrying them to the houses of the Rue Seve, they kept their cool and, turning on the gas, got up again and continued their way in the air until they flew out of Paris. There they calmly descended into the countryside beyond the new boulevard, opposite the Kulebarba mill, without experiencing the slightest inconvenience and having two-thirds of the fuel in the gallery. They could, therefore, if they wanted, to cover the space three times as much as the traveled … The latter ranged from 4 to 5 thousand toises, with the time spent on this 20-25 minutes. This machine was 70 feet high and 46 feet in diameter; it held 60,000 cubic feet of gas, and the load it lifted was approximately 1600-1700 pounds.
Done at the Château de la Muette at 5 pm.
Signed by: Duke de Polignac, Duke de Guip, Comte de Polastron, Comte de Vaudreuil, d'Yuno, B. Franklin, Foja de Saint Fonds, Delisle, Leroy from the Academy of Sciences.
Among the signers of the protocol was the famous American scientist, who was visiting Paris at that time and was present at the balloon raising ceremony, Benjamin Franklin. When in one of the discussions he was asked: "Well, they flew, but what is the use of these balloons?"
The return to Paris was triumphant. The people had already come to their senses from shock and violently splashed out their emotions on the streets of the city.
The general enthusiasm that gripped France spread to other countries as well. The press was full of materials dedicated to the first flight of people and the prospects for the development of aeronautics. Much has been said about the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind, about the destruction of borders and roads.
On December 10, 1783, at its meeting, the Academy of Sciences conferred on Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier the title of Corresponding Members, and two weeks later it awards them a prize intended to "promote the arts and sciences." Louis XVI awarded Etienne the Order of St. Michael, and Joseph was given a life pension of 1,000 livres. Their aged father was awarded a certificate of nobility. On the family coat of arms of Montgolfier, the king ordered to inscribe: Sic itur ad astra - So they go to the stars …
