The invention of airships came to solve the issue with hot air balloons.
The invention of airships came to solve the issue with hot air balloons. Unlike hot air balloons, airships used hydrogen or helium gas to lift and were the first ones to carry passengers over long distances. Alberto Santos-Dumont was the first person to fly an untethered airship designed with an internal combustion engine. In 1901, Santos-Dumont launched his airship known as “Number 6” over Paris in less than thirty minutes. In 1899, Ferdinand von Zeppelin started building the first Zeppelin airship, which featured two Daimler engines. In 1902, Leonardo Torres Quevedo launched his version of The Zeppelin, which dealt with the balancing problems of the first Zeppelin. However, the fatal crash at Lakehurst, New Jersey, in 1937 marked the end of the airship era.