Goodyear Blimp.
Photo courtesy of Goodyear
Balloon Flights
Balloons have been used for aerial observation and pleasure ever since the first balloon flight. Armies in the United States used them in the Civil War. They often flew so low, however, that they were shot at. Because no one had invented a way to steer balloons yet, the pilots also had to hope the winds did not change and float them into enemy territory.
What do you think the greatest disadvantage of balloons is? Most would argue that the greatest weakness is that balloons cannot be steered. In addition to their efforts to invent balloon flight, the French pioneered efforts in the steerable balloon, called the dirigible. They realized that changing the shape of the balloon from a round to a cigar shape afforded more control options and allowed more hydrogen to be carried.
The first inventor to successfully incorporate power on the dirigible was Alberto Santos-Dumont, a wealthy Brazilian who later established that nation’s aerospace industry. Small gasoline engines and rudders allowed the airship to be steered more effectively than any balloons previously built. These airships were known as semi-rigid, since they were strengthened by an internal keel.
The first rigid airships—and the most successful ones ever built—were made by the great German inventor, Ferdinand von Zeppelin. He built his ships of lightweight aluminum shells and steel framework which contained gasbags. The ships were relatively safe and came into commercial use. After some time they were called Zeppelins in honor of their inventor and manufacturer. The most famous Zeppelin ever produced was the Hindenburg, which blew up after a transatlantic voyage in 1937. The flaming crash was caught on film, and the popularity of Zeppelins rapidly declined.
However, some dirigibles and non-rigid blimps remain in use, and nearly all of them use helium, which is less explosive but more expensive than hydrogen. The most famous blimps are the Goodyear blimps, which tour the United States and advertise tires above sports stadiums.
Click the graphic to visit the Goodyear Blimp homepage.
