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• The hot air balloon, an invention of the Montgolfier brothers, was developped in 1782 in Annonay, a small town in the Ardèche département (France). • Balloons drifted with the wind and therefore the inventors' aim was to make them directionnal. • 100 years after the first ascension, the ballon " La France " became the first fully manovrable balloon on August 9th, 1884 as it carried out a figure of 8 flight which brought it back to its take off point demonstrating its capabilities of flying upwind..
According to the type of structure airships belong to 3 categories :
• Semi-rigid structure: flexible balloons equipped with a long rigid structure, the keel, which is maintained in contact with the main structure by cables coming down from the top. The keel includes the nacelle and carries the engines which can be situated in the rear far away from the nacelle. • Rigid structure: it is formed by a metallic framework covered with a canvas. The rigidity and strength of the structure allows to attach the different equipment, nacelle, engines and empennage without any problem and at the best location.
• Being an aerostatic and aerodynamic craft, the airship has specific characters which distinguish it from all the other aircrafts : large size, low altitude flight and low speed, reduced energy consumption, hovering. • These qualities open important outlets in the field of local and regional transport, in the tropical and boreal regions, in the transport and handling of cumbersome loads and in the field of surveillance.
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