• “My definition (of a philosopher) is of a man up in a balloon, with his family and friends holding the ropes which confine him to earth and trying to
haul him down.”
Louisa May Alcott, novelist, short story writer and poet
• “Man ... can go up against gravitation in a balloon, and why should he not
hope that ultimately he may be able to stop or accelerate his drift along the
Time-Dimension, or even turn about and travel the other way.”
H. G. Wells, English writer
• “I had no need of sails to drive me, nor oars nor wheels to push me, nor
rails to give me a faster road. Air is what I wanted, that was all. Air surrounds me as water surrounds the submarine boat, and in it my propellers
act like the screws of a steamer. That is how I solved the problem of aviation. That is what a balloon will never do, nor will any machine that is
lighter than air.”
Jules Verne, French novelist, poet, and playwright
• “I have not the smallest molecule of faith in aerial navigation other than
ballooning.”
Baron William Thomson Kelvin, British mathematical physicist and
engineer
• “There is no basis for the ardent hopes and positive statements made as to
the safe and successful use of the dirigible balloon or flying machine, or
both, for commercial transportation or as weapons of war.”
George W. Melville, American engineer, Arctic explorer, and author.
• “Life is like a balloon; you must put something into it to get the best possible results.”
William Cranch Bond, an American astronomer, and the first Director,
Harvard College Observatory
Quotes from balloon adventurers
• “Half the art of ballooning is to make your crashes so gentle that you can
fool yourself into calling them landings.”
Richard Branson, entrepreneur and balloonist
• “I pick projects according to how fascinating they are to me, and it has
resulted in a broad reach. My records are actually in five different sports:
balloons, airplanes, airships, gliders, and sailboats.”
Steve Fossett, the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a
balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraft
Appendix 4: Quotes 311
haul him down.”
Louisa May Alcott, novelist, short story writer and poet
• “Man ... can go up against gravitation in a balloon, and why should he not
hope that ultimately he may be able to stop or accelerate his drift along the
Time-Dimension, or even turn about and travel the other way.”
H. G. Wells, English writer
• “I had no need of sails to drive me, nor oars nor wheels to push me, nor
rails to give me a faster road. Air is what I wanted, that was all. Air surrounds me as water surrounds the submarine boat, and in it my propellers
act like the screws of a steamer. That is how I solved the problem of aviation. That is what a balloon will never do, nor will any machine that is
lighter than air.”
Jules Verne, French novelist, poet, and playwright
• “I have not the smallest molecule of faith in aerial navigation other than
ballooning.”
Baron William Thomson Kelvin, British mathematical physicist and
engineer
• “There is no basis for the ardent hopes and positive statements made as to
the safe and successful use of the dirigible balloon or flying machine, or
both, for commercial transportation or as weapons of war.”
George W. Melville, American engineer, Arctic explorer, and author.
• “Life is like a balloon; you must put something into it to get the best possible results.”
William Cranch Bond, an American astronomer, and the first Director,
Harvard College Observatory
Quotes from balloon adventurers
• “Half the art of ballooning is to make your crashes so gentle that you can
fool yourself into calling them landings.”
Richard Branson, entrepreneur and balloonist
• “I pick projects according to how fascinating they are to me, and it has
resulted in a broad reach. My records are actually in five different sports:
balloons, airplanes, airships, gliders, and sailboats.”
Steve Fossett, the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a
balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraft
Appendix 4: Quotes 311