From the beginning until 1910
1783
BALLOONS WITH PASSENGERS
It is not easy to detail which was the first flight experience of mankind. However, there ae records that in 1783, passengers have made experimental ascensions in the hot air balloon of brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, paper manufacturers in Annonay, southern France. At the end of that year, experiments have also been made with hydrogen balloons. In the second half of 19th century, flying in hot air aerostats had become a common adventure in Europe, and the apparatus were also used by the military, as an observation resource.
1709
THE FLYING PRIEST
One of the pioneers in balloon experiences in the Modern Era was Bartolomeu de Gusmão, a Brazilian priest, born in the city of Santos, in 1685.
20/07/1873
THE CHILD THAT WANTED TO FLY
Very far away from Paris noise, in the quiet town of Palmira (currently Santos Dumont), interior of Minas Gerais, was born Alberto Santos Dumont, a child son of Henrique Dumont, an engineer. At the age of six, his parents moved to the region of
