.jpg)
Élisabeth Thible, or Elizabeth Tible (née Estrieux, 8 March 1757-13 February 1785), was the first woman to make a flight in an untethered hot air balloon. She was born in Lyon, France, on 8 March 1757.
On 4 June 1784, eight months after the first crewed balloon flight, Thible flew with a Monsieur Fleurant on board a hot air balloon christened La Gustave in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden's visit to Lyon.
Monsieur Fleurant originally planned to fly the hot air balloon with Count Jean-Baptiste de Laurencin, but the count gave his position on The Gustave to Élisabeth Thible.
When the balloon left the ground Thible, dressed as the Roman goddess Minerva, and Fleurant sang two duets from Monsigny's La Belle Arsène, a celebrated opera of the time. The flight lasted 45 minutes, covered 4 kilometres, and achieved an estimated altitude of 1,500 metres. It was witnessed by King Gustav III of Sweden in whose honour the balloon was named. During the bumpy landing Thible turned an ankle as the basket hit the ground. She was credited by Fleurant with the success of the flight both because she fed the balloon's fire box en route and by exhibiting her remarkable courage.
Little is known of Madame Thible; she is described as the abandoned spouse (épouse délaissée) of a Lyon merchant. No record of her survives as a professional opera singer. She died in Paris on 13 February 1785.
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries passengers and a source of heat, in most cases an open flame caused by burning liquid propane. The heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant, since it has a lower density than the colder air outside the envelope. As with all aircraft, hot air balloons cannot fly beyond the atmosphere. The envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom, since the air inside the envelope is at about the same pressure as the surrounding air.
The hot air balloon is the first successful human-carrying flight technology. The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight in the world was performed in Paris, France, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on November 21, 1783, in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers. Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than simply drifting with the wind are known as thermal airships.
More information: Atlas Obscura
Amelia Earhart
No comments:
Post a Comment