What is common to: Richard Branson, Steve Fossett, Bertrand Picard and J Renee? In the last few months they have all tried to fly non-stop round the world in a balloon - one of the few frontiers of human endurance still to be conquered.
One of the most skillful of the pioneering balloonists was a dislikable character called Jean Pierre Blanchard (1753-1809). Flying for fame and money, the egotistical Blanchard was the first great aerial showman, stuntman, and occasional conman.
He ran away from his poor peasant family. Fleeing to Paris, he became a mechanic and, at the age of 16, invented the velociped an early form of the bicycle. Next, he became enthralled with flight and studied birds to learn the secrets of aviation. The result of his investigations was his visseau volant "flying vessel." A totally impractical "aeroplane." Realising his flightless flying machine would never bring him riches, Blanchard turned his attention to the newly invented gas balloon.
The First Aerial Crossing Of The English Channel
Since France was the ballooning capital of the world, Blanchard found the competition for fame too stiff there and move to England in late 1784. There he launched a publicity campaign promoting aeronaut and advertising his many achievements. Most of his claims were false, yet he convinced a group of wealthy personages to sponsor him. These patrons sponsored a number of flights that won Blanchard the renown he so ravenously desired.
Together with one of his benefactors Dr John Jeffries, an American living in England, Blanchard planned the first aerial crossing of the English Channel. Though Blanchard needed Jeffries to pay for the expedition, he certain did not want Jeffries to accompany him and share the glory of being the first to cross the Channel. However, Jeffries insisted to be taken along and even signed a contract stating that, if necessary for the success of the flight, he would dive overboard. At Dover Castle on the English coast, Blanchard made his preparations, but he refused to allow Jeffries into his barricaded camp. Jeffries retaliated by hiring a squad of sailors to storm Blanchard's fortress. Eventually a truce was negotiated, and Blanchard agreed to let Jeffries accompany him.
On 7 January, 1785, Blanchard's inflated balloon was transported to a Dover cliff for launching. At the last minute, Blanchard tried one last trick. He announced that the balloon was overweight and Jeffries could not come. Calling the short thin Blanchard a "petulant little fellow ... physically well suited for vopourish regions," Jeffries searched Blanchard and found he was wearing a lead belt. After Blanchard discarded the belt, both men climbed into the balloon's carriage and ascended. A weak wind blew them slowly south-east towards France, but eight miles out over the Channel the balloon began to descend. Blanchard and Jeffries jettisoned the ballast, but they continued to sink. The two men argued about what should be thrown overboard until the balloon carriage bounced on the waters. Then both men - neither of whom could swim - desperately tossed cargo over the side.
Sighting the French coast, Jeffries climbed into the rigging, while Blanchard screamed at him to come down because they were falling again. Skimming five feet over the water, they threw ropes, anchors, seats, scientific instruments overboard. When the balloon still failed to rise, Blanchard stripped to his underwear and tossed away his underwear and tossed away his clothes. At first Jeffries refused to follow suit, saying he would rather drown than face the French in the nude. As they came nearer the waves, Jeffries overcame his modesty and flung his clothes overboard. Climbing into the rigging, Jeffries suggested that they discharge the weight of their bladders. Blanchard thought it an excellent idea and both urinated into the English Channel.
The First Airmail Letter
Approaching the French coast they were lifted by a warm current and crossed into France, becoming the first men to fly the Channel. They were climbing skywards and had thrown their landing ropes and anchors away. Jeffries slowed the balloon by grabbing hold of treetops. When they floated over a clearing, Blanchard released the gas from the balloon, which sank safely to the ground. After they were given cloths, the aeronauts arrived in Calais by carriage and were greeted by cheering crowds. Although they had jettisoned their mail bag, Jeffries had stuffed one letter addressed to Temple Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's grandson, into his underwear. This was the first airmail letter.
Musical Parachute
Louis XVI of France rewarded Blanchard handsomely in cash and a lifetime pension: Jeffries, who had paid for everything, got nothing. Blanchard returned to England and started a business teaching ballooning and giving stunt shows. He promoted an attraction featuring animals parachuting from balloons but had to cancel it after a dog and sheep were parachuted to their deaths. Next he advertised that a man would jump from a balloon and play a violin while parachuting down.
When the man leaped from an altitude of only ten feet and played only a few notes, the spectators, who had paid dearly for their tickets, rioted and destroyed Blanchard's establishment.
Blanchard left England and toured Europe, giving aeronautical demonstrations. In 1793 in Philadelphia, Blanchard made the first balloon ascent in the western hemisphere. In 1808, in the Hague, Blanchard suffered a heart attack during his 60th flight. He managed to land but died shortly thereafter in Paris.
Reproduced by kind permission of The Asian Age
