Rozière
A rozière is a combination of a gas balloon and a hot air balloon . The Rozière was named and invented by the first aviation pioneer Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier , who had a fatal accident while driving a Rozière on June 15, 1785 and thus became the first fatality in aviation history.
From 1999 manned circumnavigations of the world by balloon were only possible with the help of Rozières.
features
The original Rozière consisted of a spherical gas balloon with a cylinder underneath, under which a fire burned. The cylinder captured the hot air of the fire, also heated the gas in the balloon and thus provided additional buoyancy . In the past, the balloon gas used was primarily hydrogen ; today, non-flammable helium is used almost exclusively .
A modern Rozière consists of a spherical gas cell, encased in an outer skin that merges into a hot-air cone below. The Rozière is fueled like a hot air balloon, e.g. B. butane , propane or kerosene , heated. Since their appearance resembles a hot air balloon, Rozières are often called hot air balloons out of ignorance.
Above the gas cell, there can be an optional "tent" that traps additional heat and is spanned by a smaller, second helium-filled balloon, the "tent balloon". The two gas cells are connected via a valve. A fan can be used to transport heat out of the tent. To stabilize the temperature, the outer skin is often made particularly heat-insulating and at the same time reflective of sunlight.
The advantage of the Rozière compared to pure hot air balloons is the lower fuel consumption, which compared to gas balloons the better possibility to compensate for the sun-induced temperature fluctuations of the balloon between day and night. The Rozière is suitable for weeks of balloon trips, e.g. B. Record drives and circumnavigations of the world. The travel time of manned hot air balloons is limited to a few hours because of the fuel consumption, and that of manned gas balloons to a few days because of the consumption of ballast and gas.
Circumnavigations of the world
So far, three manned circumnavigations of the world with balloons have been made - all at high altitudes in the jet stream with Rozières.
- For the first time in March 1999 with Breitling Orbiter 3, double manned with Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in 21 days,
- most recently the fastest in about 11 ½ days in July 2016, solo manned with Fyodor Filippowitsch Konjuchow .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Popular Science . Bonnier Corporation, 1996, p. 56 ( books.google.de ).