Hot Air Balloon

New Mexico State Aircraft

hotairballoonsymbolNM.jpg

Hot air balloon

Hot air balloons; public domain photo from PDphoto.org.

Official State Aircraft of New Mexico

New Mexico designated the hot air balloon as the official state aircraft in 2005. Albuquerque, New Mexico (“The Balloon Capitol of the World”) is known worldwide for its yearly hot air balloon mass ascension event; "The International Balloon Fiesta." All State Aircraft

Hot air balloons operate through the basic principles of gravity and hot air rising. As air inside the balloon is heated, it rises. As the air inside the balloon cools, it descends. The hot air balloon is the oldest successful flight technology for carrying humans, dating back to its invention by the French Montgolfier brothers in 1783.

New Mexico

Images

Balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico; photo by littlemoresunshine on Flickr (use permitted with attribution).

Balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Red and yellow New Mexico license plate featuring a hot air balloon; photo by Norm Russo (used by permission).

Red and yellow New Mexico license plate featuring hot air balloon

Videos

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2013