Montgolfier’s Legacy in Ballooning Honors Record-Setting Pilot

On the anniversary of the brothers’ first test flight, we talk with NAA award-winning balloon pilot Kim Magee.

Julie Boatman

Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 04:32 PM ET

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Kim Magee obtained three world and six national records in the AX-02 balloon. Courtesy: Kim Magee

Key Takeaways:

The Montgolfier brothers pioneered hot air ballooning in the late 18th century, a legacy honored today by awards like the FAI Montgolfier Diploma for excellence in the sport.
Kim Magee, recipient of the 2021 Montgolfier Diploma, holds multiple world and national records, explaining that larger balloons facilitate longer and higher flights, often leading to records in several categories.
The ballooning community faces significant changes, including a controversial FAA proposal to require a second-class medical certificate for commercial pilots, a change that could impact many who value the sport's current accessibility.
Becoming a certified balloon pilot is a relatively straightforward process, especially for existing fixed-wing pilots, typically requiring a 10-hour course and a check ride, with local clubs serving as key training resources.

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On December 14, 1782, the Montgolfier brothers—Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne—set out on their first serious flight test of the lighter-than-air conveyance they had developed while researching and experimenting with the process in the department of Ardèche, France.

The two brothers had built a wooden box, measuring roughly 9 ft by 9 ft by 12 ft and covered in taffeta-like cloth—based on a previous design of Joseph’s—and set it aloft by burning wool and hay under the bottom of the box. But they promptly lost control of it, according to C.C. Gillispie, in The Montgolfier brothers and the invention of aviation 1783-1784. It drifted nearly a mile and a quarter away—a failure.