generation of its 14,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas. The
inflation was completed on December 1st, 1783, and the fittings
carried included a barometer and a grapnel form of anchor. In
addition to this, Charles provided the first 'ballon sonde' in
the form of a small pilot balloon which he handed to Montgolfier
to launch before his own ascent, in order to determine the
direction and velocity of the wind. It was a graceful compliment
to his rival, and indicated that, although they were both working
to the one end, their rivalry was not a matter of bitterness.

Ascending on December 1st, 1783, Charles took with him one of
the brothers Robert, and with him made the record journey up to
that date, covering a period of three and three-quarter hours,
in which time they journeyed some forty miles. Robert then
landed, and Charles ascended again alone, reaching such a height
as to feel the effects of the rarefaction of the air, this very
largely due to the rapidity of his ascent. Opening the valve at
the top of the balloon, he descended thirty-five minutes after
leaving Robert behind, and came to earth a few miles from the
point of the first descent. His discomfort over the rapid
ascent was mainly due to the fact that, when Robert landed, he
forgot to compensate for the reduction of weight by taking in
further ballast, but the ascent proved the value of the tube at
the bottom of the balloon envelope, for the gas escaped very
rapidly in that second ascent, and, but for the tube, the
balloon must inevitably have burst in the air, with fatal
results for Charles.

As in the case of aeroplane flight, as soon as the balloon was
proved practicable the flight across the English Channel was