ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01755-6ISBN-10: 0-547-01755-3

1031589

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

3.5.25

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: Q

DRA: 40

Genre:Informational

Strategy:Question

Skill:Text and Graphic Features

Word Count: 1,113

by Rufus Albermarle

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: McEntee Art and Design

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover (balloon) PhotoLink. (sky) © PhotoDisc. 1 © Shutterstock. 2 PhotoLink. 2–3 © PhotoDisc. 4 Hans Weisenhoffer. 5 Science & Society Picture Library. 6 © PhotoDisc. 7 Mary Evans Picture Library. 8 2001 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution (SI Neg. No.A-34575). (bkgd) PhotoDisc. 9 © Ken Glaser/Corbis. 11 © PhotoDisc. 12 © Dave G. Houser/Corbis. 13 © Shutterstock. 14 © Shutterstock.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01755-6ISBN-10: 0-547-01755-3

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22

Table of ContentsIntroduction 3

The First Flying Machine 4

Three Launches 6

Hydrogen Balloons 8

Modern Balloons 9

Piloting 12

Which Way the Wind Blows 13

Landing 14

3

IntroductionOnce upon a time, a duck, a sheep, and a

rooster went for a balloon ride high over the French countryside.

That sounds like the start of a bedtime story, doesn’t it? But this story is true.

The duck, the sheep, and the rooster were the first passengers ever to fly in a hot-air balloon. It wasn’t their idea, of course. And no one’s sure how they felt about the experience.

But two people watching from the ground felt very, very good about it.

"

4

The First Flying MachineThose two people were Joseph and Etienne

(a TYEN) Montgolfier (Mont GOFF EE ay), inventors of the hot-air balloon—the very first flying machine!

The brothers were from a family of paper makers. Years before that first balloon launch, they’d noticed something interesting. When they burned paper, bits of ash rose into the air. This got the brothers thinking. Maybe they could somehow use hot air to get human beings into the air—to fly!

The brothers captured smoke in a bag and then let the bag go. It floated into the sky. Then they did it again, with a bigger bag this time. They learned that the bigger the bag, and the more smoke it held, the higher it would go.

What Makes a Balloon Rise?The Montgolfier brothers didn’t understand why

heated air makes a bag—or a balloon—rise into the sky. Today people know the reason: when air is heated, it becomes less dense, or lighter, than regular air. When the air inside a balloon is heated, the balloon becomes

lighter than the air outside, and so it rises.

A model of the Mongolfiers’ balloon

5

Now it was time to create their flying machine. They made a giant balloon out of linen and paper. They attached a basket to the bottom of the balloon. Ta-da!

6

Three LaunchesOn June 5, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers’

balloon was ready to go. They put the duck, the sheep, and the rooster in the basket. This first flight seemed too risky for humans (but the poor animals couldn’t say no).

The brothers built a fire on the ground to heat the air inside the balloon. The balloon began to rise. Up, up, and away! The duck, the sheep, the rooster, and their vehicle traveled a mile through the late-spring air. Then they landed, with a thud.

Success!In October of the same year, another balloon

was sent aloft in the French countryside, this time with human passengers. The balloonists fired up a grill attached to the bottom of the balloon. The balloon was connected to the ground by a long, 250-foot rope, for safety. It rose to the end of the rope and floated in the air for 15 minutes.

A month later, a third balloon launched from the center of Paris, the capital of France. This one had two people in it but no rope. It rose 500 feet into the sky and soared over five miles into a section of farmland that surrounded the city.

An early balloon soars over Paris.

7

Local farmers were suspicious of the “fiery dragon.” But others rejoiced. It was the first “free flight” ever made by humans!

An old drawing shows the inflating of the first hydrogen balloon in France.

8

Hydrogen Balloons During this same year, another Frenchman,

Jacques Charles, invented a different type of balloon. This one used hydrogen gas to rise into the air. Like hot air, hydrogen was lighter than cold air. That was one of its advantages. But it also had one big disadvantage: it was very explosive. (The duck, the sheep, and the rooster, as it turned out, were lucky to fly in that other balloon instead!) But aside from that risk, the gas balloons flew as well as the hot-air balloons.

After 1783, balloons didn’t change much. In fact, there were no more big breakthroughs in ballooning for 150 years or so. People got interested in other kinds of air travel—namely, airplanes.

9

Modern BalloonsOctober 10, 1960, was the official birth date of

the modern hot-air balloon. A company in Nebraska launched a balloon made of a very tough nylon. The air in the balloon was heated by a burner fueled by propane gas. The burner sat in a wicker basket under the balloon. This propane-fueled balloon could reach a high altitude and stay in the air for hours.

Today’s balloons are pretty much unchanged, although some balloon makers now use taffeta, a fabric that’s even tougher than nylon. They also coat balloons with a spray that can stand up to very high temperatures. The baskets are still made of wicker, and the equipment inside is still the basic propane tanks and burners.

Parachute valve

Gores

Panels

Skirt

Burners

Propane tanks(inside)

Wicker basket

Parachutevalve cord

Envelope

10

11

After 1960, the sport of hot-air ballooning took off (so to speak). By 1963, the United States was hosting national ballooning competitions. Today there are more than 5,000 balloon pilots in the U.S. alone, and about 7,500 hot-air balloons.

"

Record-Setting FlightsModern balloons can reach higher altitudes than ever. The world altitude record was set in 2005: 69,852 feet! Over the past decades, balloonists have flown farther and farther, too. In 1999, a balloon called the Breitling

Orbiter 3 made it all the way around the world! By the time it approached its landing point in Egypt, the balloon had also set a record for the longest time in

the air: 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes.

12

Piloting When passengers ride in a hot-air balloon, they

feel as if they’re floating effortlessly through the air. For the balloon’s pilot, however, the trip is far

from effortless. A pilot needs plenty of knowledge and skills to launch, steer, and land a balloon safely.

The pilot must pick a good place for takeoff, such as a large, open field. Pilots definitely don’t want skyscrapers or mountain slopes nearby—that would be asking for disaster.

Then the pilot needs to check the weather forecast. Visibility—few clouds and no fog—is very important. Winds have to be slow during takeoff and landing, or the balloon can easily crash.

13

Which Way the Wind BlowsWinds also have to be blowing in the right

direction. The right direction is the one in which the pilot wants the balloon to go!

During the flight, the pilot can only steer the balloon up or down into wind currents and then let the wind carry it along. Strong currents can hit a balloon like an avalanche, blowing it suddenly off course.

How does the pilot find the wind currents that are blowing in the direction he or she wants to go? You might expect some sort of complicated equipment to do the job. Instead, pilots often spit into the air and see which way the spit blows as it falls toward the ground! If it starts blowing east, the pilot knows there’s a wind current blowing east below the balloon. So to go east, the pilot can make the balloon descend to that current, and then let the wind carry it.

To find out about wind currents moving above the balloon, the pilot may rely on more scientific methods, such as weather reports. Some pilots also send up a special balloon called a pibal to determine the wind direction.

14

If a wind current is blowing in the right direction above rather than below the balloon, the pilot increases altitude to enter that current.

If the pilot succeeds in finding a good current, it’s up, up, and away!

LandingWhen it’s time to come to a halt, the pilot tries

to find a spot that’s protected from the wind. The less wind, the fewer bumps and scratches to the balloon—and its passengers. While in the air, a balloon may float like a bird. But when it lands, it’s usually more like an elephant!

15

RespondingTARGET SKILL Text and Graphic

Features What text and graphic features helped you learn information in this story? Copy the chart below. In the top row, write the name of two more text or graphic features from the book. Under each one, write the feature’s purpose.

Diagram ? ?

Shows the parts of a hot-air balloon.

? ?

Text to Self Imagine going on a balloon ride. Write a fictional story telling what it might be like for you. Use descriptive words to help readers picture the setting.

Write About It

16

altitudeapproachedavalancheequipmenthalt

increasessectionslopessucceedstanks

TARGET VOCABULARY

TARGET SKILL Text and Graphic FeaturesTell how words, photos, and art work together.

TARGET STRATEGY Question Ask questions before you read, while you read, and after you read.

GENRE Informational text gives factual information about a topic.

aloftbreakthroughscurrentdense

hydrogenlaunchedpropanevisibility

EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01755-6ISBN-10: 0-547-01755-3

1031589

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

3.5.25

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: Q

DRA: 40

Genre:Informational

Strategy:Question

Skill:Text and Graphic Features

Word Count: 1,113