| CIA NOTABLE FLIGHTS | Part U. Unmanned flights |
| 1709-08-08 | Earliest recorded model balloon flight |
| | Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão¹ |
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| | Gusmão | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1782-11-25/26 | First experiment by Montgolfier. |
| | Joseph-Michel Montgolfier¹ |
| | At 18. rue Saint-Etienne. Avignon |
| | Fire made of paper |
| | Montgolfière No 1. Silk cube. | Volume | 1 | | m3 |
| 1782-12- | First outdoor flight. |
| | Joseph & Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | Paper factory garden in Vidalon-les-Annonay |
| | Fire made of straw and humid wool. |
| | Montgolfière No 2. Cylinder. | Volume | 1 | | m3 |
| 1782-12-14 | First free flight with a model balloon |
| | Joseph & Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
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| | Montgolfière No 3. Silk sphere. | Volume | 18 | | m3 |
| 1783-04- | Tethered experiments. |
| | Joseph & Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | Château de Brogieux. Annonay |
| | Fire made of straw and humid wool. |
| | Montgolfière No 4. Linen & paper sphere. | Volume | 800 | | m3 |
| 1783-04-25 | First free flight at night. |
| | Joseph & Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | Château du Colombier. Annonay. |
| | Fire made of straw and humid wool. |
| | Montgolfière No 4. Linen & paper sphere. | Volume | 800 | | m3 |
| 1783-06-04 | First public demonstration. free flight. |
| | Joseph & Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | Place des Cordeliers. Annonay. |
| | Fire made of straw and humid wool. |
| | Montgolfière No 4. Linen & paper sphere. | Volume | 800 | | m3 |
| 1783-08-27 | First Free flight by gas balloon. |
| | Jacques Alexandre César Charles & Robert brothers¹ |
| | Public demonstration. Champ de Mars. Paris - Gonesse 15 km NE Paris. |
| | Balloon destroyed by scared villagers. |
| | Charlière No 1. Rubberized silk sphere. Hydrogen. | Volume | 35 | | m3 |
| 1783-09-12 | Tethered flight. Demonstration for Scientific commission. |
| | Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | Réveillon. Paris |
| | Fire made of straw. humid wool and animal parts. |
| | Montgolfière No 5. Paper covered linen. Biconical | Volume | 1000 | | m3 |
| 1783-09-19 | First free flight with animals. |
| | Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | From the Royal Court at Versailles to Vaucresson |
| | Fire made of straw. humid wool and animal parts. |
| | Montgolfière No 6. Painted cotton | Volume | 1400 | | m3 |
| 1783-10- | Tethered flight. |
| | Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier¹ |
| | Reveillon. Paris |
| | Airborne heater fired by dried straw. |
| | Montgolfière No 7. Painted fire resistant cotton. | Volume | 2200 | | m3 |
| 1799-07-18 | First balloon flight north of the arctic circle |
| | Edward Daniel Clarke¹ |
| | Enontekiö. northern Finland. (N68.23. E23.38). Until 1809 a part of Sweden |
| | Unmanned hot air balloon. Clarke was an English mineralogist and traveller |
| | Hot air balloon | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1804-12-06 | Unmanned balloons released to celebrate Napoleon's coronation. |
| | André Jacques Garnerin¹ |
| | One lands in Rome on Nero's grave. |
| | Garnerin replaced as official aeronaut by superstitious Napoleon. Date sometimes given as 16/12 |
| | Unmanned. Hydrogen. | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1808-06-02 | First domestic air mail service starts in Denmark. |
| | Johann Peter Colding¹ |
| | Ends after four unmanned flights |
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| | Colding. Hydrogen balloon. Unmanned | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1809-02/03 | First international mail balloons. |
| | Johann Peter Colding¹ |
| | Denmark to Sweden with pamphlets against the Swedish King |
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| | Colding. Hydrogen balloon. Unmanned | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1849-06- | Austrians load 100 small hot air balloons with fused bombs |
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| | Siege of Venice |
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| | Unmanned. | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1909-xx-xx | Radio-controlled airship model demonstration |
| | Mark O. Anthony |
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| | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1910-08-22 | Radio-controlled airship model demonstration. |
| | Raymond Phillips |
| | Empire theatre. Cardiff |
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| | "Raymond Phillips" | Volume | 8 | | m3 |
| 1956-05-xx | Logging by balloon tested in Sweden |
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| | Old WW II barrage balloons used |
| | Found uneconomical in Sweden. Terrain more suitable for road transport |
| | British Barrage balloon. hydrogen | Volume | 500 | | m3 |
| 1968-01-02 | Unmanned balloon GHOST 70201K landed |
| | Unmanned |
| | Made 32 earth orbits in 351 days |
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| | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| 1972-10-27 | Highest altitude attained by unmanned balloon. Chico. California |
| | Unmanned |
| | Largest balloon built |
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| | Winzen | Volume | 1353550 | | m3 |
| Unknown | Largest unmanned balloon. Unknown date |
| | Unmanned |
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| | Winzen | Volume | 2002000 | | m3 |
| 1973-03-14 | Test with logging balloons to load/offload ships |
| | Unmanned |
| | Balloon Trans-Air conducts test for Department of Defence |
| | 20 000 lb / 9 000 kg lifted 1 500 ft. Culp Creek. Oregon |
| | Raven. Helium | Volume | 15007.9 | | m3 |
| 1994-08-27 | World record toy balloon launch. |
| | Lucius Peart¹ |
| | 1 592 744 balloons released. |
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| | Volume | 0 | | m3 |
| | © CIA, Hans Åkerstedt | | 2024-12-04 |