All balloons float for the same reason: whatever fills the envelope weighs less than the air it pushes aside. What splits the family into branches is the filling. Heat ordinary air and you have a hot air balloon. Seal in a gas that is naturally lighter, such as helium or hydrogen, and you have a gas balloon. Combine the two and you get the long-haul hybrid that first flew around the world. Here is the whole family, including the members with no basket at all.
Three types, all born in 1783
The two main branches are nearly twins. In November 1783 a Montgolfier balloon carried the first free-flying passengers over Paris, which is why hot air balloons are still called Montgolfieres. Ten days later the physicist Jacques Charles flew the first manned hydrogen balloon, the Charliere, so well designed that gas balloons barely changed for a century. The third branch honors Pilatre de Rozier, history's first balloon pilot, who bolted the two ideas together: a gas cell for endurance, hot air for control. His own attempt ended in tragedy in 1785, but the Roziere design was simply two centuries ahead of its materials.
Gas balloons: silent, high and gone for days
A gas balloon trades the burner for a sealed envelope of helium or hydrogen. With no fuel to burn, flight is silent and can last for days; the pilot manages altitude by dropping sand ballast to climb and valving gas to descend.
That endurance made gas racing the original air sport. The Gordon Bennett Cup, first flown from Paris in 1906, is the oldest race in aviation and still runs every year: teams launch together and whoever lands farthest away wins, with the best flights covering well over a thousand kilometres.
The modern Roziere is the record-breaker's tool. A sealed helium cell provides the base lift, while a burner warms it at night so the balloon does not sink when the gas cools. The design burns a fraction of the fuel a pure hot air balloon would need, which is what makes weeks-long flights possible. In March 1999, Breitling Orbiter 3 carried Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones around the world non-stop in just under 20 days, a story told in full on our records and adventures page.
Special shapes and the rest of the zoo
Walk any big launch field and you will meet the crowd-pleasers: special shape balloons sewn into castles, cartoon characters and, yes, a Darth Vader helmet. Under the novelty they are ordinary hot air balloons with ambitious tailoring and extra internal bracing, and they are the stars of every major balloon festival.
At the minimalist end sits the cloudhopper: a one-person balloon with no basket, just a pilot in a harness or saddle under a small envelope. And solar balloons skip fuel entirely, using a dark envelope that soaks up sunlight to warm the air inside; they remain mostly an experimenter's craft.
Tethered, free, or not a balloon at all
Plenty of first flights happen on a rope. Tethered balloons rise a few dozen metres above a festival field and winch back down, a taste of the view rather than a journey. A free flight goes wherever the wind goes, with a chase crew trailing by road. One boundary line is worth drawing, though: an airship is not a balloon. Add engines and a rudder and the aircraft joins a different family entirely. A balloon, by definition, has no propulsion; it drifts, and that is precisely the appeal.
Meet the whole family in one field
Festivals are where you see everything at once: mass ascensions, special shapes, night glows and the occasional gas race launch. Find one worth planning a trip around.
Balloon types FAQ
What is the difference between a hot air balloon and a gas balloon?
A hot air balloon lifts by heating ordinary air with a propane burner and typically flies for about an hour. A gas balloon is sealed and filled with helium or hydrogen, needs no burner, and can stay aloft for days, steering altitude with ballast and a gas valve.
What is a Roziere balloon?
A hybrid with a sealed helium cell plus a hot air section warmed by a burner. It uses far less fuel than a pure hot air balloon, which makes multi-week flights possible; Breitling Orbiter 3 used the design to fly non-stop around the world in 1999.
What is a cloudhopper balloon?
The smallest hot air balloon: a single pilot hangs in a harness or on a light seat beneath a compact envelope, with no basket. Hoppers are flown for sport and training, not for passenger rides.
Is a blimp or airship a type of balloon?
No. Airships carry engines and steering, so they can fly a chosen route regardless of wind direction. Balloons have no propulsion and drift with the wind, which is the defining line between the two aircraft families.