It all began with balloons... The history of humanity is full of
myths and tales of dreamers wishing to fly like birds – some of
them claiming success, with precious little supporting evidence.
It is generally accepted, however, that actual aerial navigation
started with the brothers Montgolfier – the French language
still honours them, using their name as the word for hot air
balloons. To call their aerial exploits practical may be
stretching it a bit, but despite all the inherent dangers, in
1783 they did succeed in lifting man off the ground. About the
same time, others found that the newly discovered gas hydrogen
provided lift far better than hot air, and lasted a lot longer
if you could make a gas-tight fabric. Within a year, ballooning
was all gas... The industrial revolution brought new techniques
and materials that improved the gas balloon, extending its
operating range by giant leaps. Still, aerial navigation was
limited to balloons, and remained so into the twentieth century.
It was the hydrogen gas