American balloonist inventor
This article is about the balloonist. For the baseball player, see
Eddie Yost
.
Ed Yost
|
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|
Born
| Paul Edward Yost
(
1919-06-30
)
June 30, 1919
|
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Died
| May 27, 2007
(2007-05-27)
(aged 87)
|
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Occupation
| Inventor
|
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Employer(s)
| Raven Industries
General Mills
|
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Known for
| Ballooning
|
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Notable work
| Inventor of the modern
hot air balloon
|
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Paul Edward Yost
(June 30, 1919 – May 27, 2007) was the American inventor of the modern
hot air balloon
and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon."
[1]
He worked for a
high-altitude research division of General Mills
in the early 1950s until he left to establish
Raven Industries
in 1956, along with several colleagues from General Mills.
[2]
Inventor
[
edit
]
Born on a farm seven miles south of
Bristow, Iowa
, to Charles L. Yost and Fleta Ferne Burman Yost, Paul Edward Yost first became involved in lighter-than-air ballooning when he leased his single-engine plane to
General Mills
to track their gas balloons. He became a senior engineer in the development of high-altitude research balloons.
In the 1950s, Yost's own interests turned toward reviving the lost practice of
manned hot-air ballooning
. This technology had first been invented in
France
in the late 18th century by pioneers led by the
Montgolfier brothers
, but under the Montgolfier system, the balloon's air was heated by a ground fire prior to the balloon being released. The inherent danger of this type of balloon flight led to the system being abandoned when
hydrogen
and later
helium
became available.
One of Yost's key engineering insights was that a hot-air balloon could be made to carry its own fuel. The invention of relatively light burners fueled by bottled
propane
made it possible for the balloonist to re-heat the air inside the balloon for a longer flight. Yost’s invention improved modern hot-air balloons into semi-maneuverable aircraft. Yost patented further refinements he made to the hot-air balloon, including nonporous synthetic fabrics, maneuvering vents, and deflation systems for landing. Yost also designed the distinctive “teardrop” shape of the hot air balloon envelope itself.
[3]
Aviator
[
edit
]
In October 1955, Yost developed and flew the first prototype of the modern hot-air balloon in a tethered flight.
[3]
The envelope was plastic film, and heat was provided by burning
kerosene
. This prototype flight uncovered conceptual flaws that Yost worked to overcome.
Raven Industries
pioneered hot air balloons manufacturing. Raven was founded in 1956 by Paul Edward Yost, J. R. Smith, Joseph Kaliszewski, and Dwayne Thon, while working in the
General Mills
scientific balloon program. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD; Raven was contracted by the
US Navy
's Office of Naval Research (ONR) to create a reusable, lightweight balloon that would carry a pilot to 10,000 feet and fly for three hours. Yost made the first tethered flight in October 1955. The envelope was plastic film used in gas balloons and heat from plumber’s pots burning kerosene. Yost remained aloft for 25 minutes and traveled three miles from the takeoff point.
On October 22, 1960, Yost lifted off from
Bruning, Nebraska
, on the first-ever free flight of a modern hot-air balloon.
[2]
[3]
His balloon flew untethered for 1 hour and 35 minutes with the aid of heat generated by a propane burner. The balloon's 40 ft (12 m)-diameter envelope was sewn from heat-resistant fabric especially selected by Yost for the purpose.
[4]
In November 1960, Yost made a second flight with an improved balloon from the famed
Stratobowl
, near
Rapid City, South Dakota
.
Raven Industries sold their first civilian hot air balloon in November 1961, launching a new sport in the process. The Raven Vulcoon balloon, model S50A, with a basket constructed of aluminum tubing and fiberglass panels was the first hot air balloon to receive an airworthiness certificate from the
Federal Aviation Administration
. Registration number N1960R was manufactured in May 1972 and first flown on June 11 of that year. Its balloon envelope had a capacity of 56,500 cubic feet, an empty weight of 325 pounds, and a maximum gross lifting capacity of 1400 pounds. For its entire career, the balloon was owned and operated by the Tewksbury Balloon Club, Fairmont, New Jersey.
[5]
On April 13, 1963, after further refining and improving on his designs and materials, Yost piloted the first modern
hot air balloon
across the
English Channel
with fellow balloonist
Don Piccard
in a balloon later named the “Channel Champ.”
[3]
[6]
In 1976, Yost set 13 aviation world records for distance traveled and amount of time aloft in his attempt to cross the
Atlantic Ocean
?solo? by balloon. He designed and built his balloon, the “Silver Fox," himself, partly in his home garage. It featured a gondola that was shaped like a boat in the event that he would be forced down at sea ? which is precisely what occurred. Although he had traveled far in excess of the distance needed to reach Europe from his launch point off the coast of
Maine
, his flight path began to point south rather than the hoped-for east direction due to inaccurate weather forecasting. The dream was achieved two years later with Yost’s assistance in a Yost-built balloon,
Double Eagle II
.
[3]
Yost also contributed to the advancement of the sport of ballooning and lighter-than-air flight. He helped to found the
Balloon Federation of America
(BFA) and assisted in the organization of the first
U.S. National Ballooning Championship
in
Indianola, Iowa
.
[3]
Yost founded the Balloon Historical Society (BHS) in 2002, which dedicated four monuments on the rim of the
Stratobowl
on July 28, 2004, to memorialize the Stratobowl projects in the 1930s as well as the second flight of a modern hot-air balloon.
[7]
On May 27, 2007, Yost died of a heart attack at the age of 87 at his home in
Vadito
, near
Taos, New Mexico
.
[8]
He was buried in the Allison cemetery in
Allison, Iowa
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kim, Seung Min (July 31, 2004).
"Hot-air balloons to take flight"
.
Des Moines Register
. pp. 1B. Archived from
the original
on July 9, 2019
. Retrieved
November 8,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
"National Balloon Museum - History of Ballooning"
. Archived from
the original
on August 31, 2010
. Retrieved
June 9,
2010
.
Modern hot-air ballooning was born October 22, 1960 when Paul E. (Ed) Yost piloted the maiden flight of a balloon employing a new envelope and a new propane burner system which he developed. The flight lasted 25 minutes and traveled 3 miles ... The balloon was 40 feet in diameter with a volume of 30,000 cubic feet. For this accomplishment Yost is known as the father of modern hot-air ballooning. Soon, Yost's company, Raven Industries, was making balloons for sale.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Ed Yost ? Aviator, Inventor, and "Father of Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon" Dies"
. WebWire. May 28, 2007. Archived from
the original
on July 18, 2011
. Retrieved
October 31,
2007
.
- ^
William R. Berry, "Hot-Air Balloons Race on Silent Winds",
National Geographic
129:3 (March 1966), page 395.
- ^
"Gondola, Raven"
.
airandspace.si.edu
. AirandSpace
. Retrieved
June 13,
2020
.
- ^
Associated Press
.
"Record Balloon Flight Made By Americans"
.
Gadsden Times
, April 14, 1963, p. 1. Retrieved on May 29, 2013.
- ^
http://www.interaeroleague.com
Archived
2017-09-11 at the
Wayback Machine
International Aeronauts League
- ^
Hevesi, Dennis.
"Ed Yost, 87, Father of Modern Hot-Air Ballooning, Dies"
Archived
2018-08-13 at the
Wayback Machine
,
The New York Times
, 2007-06-04. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
External links
[
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]