Balloons, Airships, and Flying Machines by Gertrude Bacon presents an account of the evolution of aviation from the first balloons to the inventions of the early 20th century. It's a well-planned and incredibly written narrative of ballooning and early aviation, which makes it easily understandable for any reader. Gertrude Bacon (1874 – 1949) was an aeronautical pioneer. She accomplished a significant number of "firsts" for women in aviation. Gertrude promoted aeronautics through her writing and encouraged commercial and popular flying as fields for women. Content includes: The Origin of Ballooning The Coming of the Gas Balloon Famous Balloon Voyages of the Past The Balloon as a Scientific Instrument The Balloon in Warfare The Airship The Flying Machine Conclusion

Looks at the history of balloons and airships, from Archimedes' discovery of the principle of buoyancy to the present day.

Excerpt from Balloons, Airships and Flying Machines That night of 1782, therefore, marks the first great step ever made towards the conquest of the sky. But to better understand the history of Aeronautics - a word that means the sailing of the air - We must go back far be yond the days of the Montgolfier brothers. For in all times and in all ages men have wanted to fly. David wished for the wings of a dove to fly away and be at rest, and since his time, and before it, how many have not longed to take flight and sail away in the boundless, glorious realms above, to explore the fleecy clouds, and to float free in the blue vault Of heaven. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

'Lively history of British women aviators.' Daily Mail 'Compelling stories of female pioneers whose soaring ambition achieved firsts in the field of aviation.' Britain Magazine 'This lovely book offers a welcome and enjoyable read and provides a timely testament for these unsung pioneers of aviation.' Maggie Appleton MBE, Chief Executive Officer, RAF Museum 'A real celebration of the women who defied tradition and followed their dreams into the sky. Readable and entertaining, this book is a worthy tribute to Britain's woman aviation pioneers.' Sharon Nicholson FRAeS, Chairwoman of the British Women Pilots' Association Just eighteen months after two Frenchmen made the world's first ever flight, a fearless British woman hopped into a flimsy balloon and flew across the London sky for nearly an hour. Since then, many other remarkable British women have decided to defy traditional society and follow their dreams to get into the sky. For the first time, Magnificent Women and Flying Machines tells the stories of the pioneers who achieved real firsts in various forms of aviation: in ballooning, parachuting, gliding, airships and fixed-wing flight – right up to a trip to the International Space Station! Full of entertaining adventure, here at last is a proper record of Britain's wonderful women of the air.

Bacon (1874-1949) was an aeronautical pioneer who achieved a considerable number of "firsts" for women in aeronautics as well as making contributions in the fields of astronomy and botany. She popularized aeronautics through her writing and promoted both commercial and popular flying as fields open to women.This work which is illustrated throughout was first published in 1905.