Pierre Testu-Brissy
Pierre Testu-Brissy was a pioneering French balloonist who achieved fame for making flights astride his horse.
Career
Testu-Brissy made his first balloon ascent in 1785 or 1786, and the first night ascent on 11 May or 18 June 1786 in a hydrogen balloon. He subsequently undertook more than 50 flights in his lifetime.Gaston Tissandier's Histoire des ballons et des aéronautes célèbres described Testu-Brissy's earliest ballooning thus :
He also described his first ascent, thus:
Scientific experimentation
On 18 June 1786 he flew for 11 hours and made the first electrical observations as he ascended into thunderclouds. He stated that he drew remarkable discharges from the clouds by means of an iron rod carried in the basket. He also experienced Saint Elmo's Fire, a phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object in an atmospheric electric field.Damage compensation
In 1786 Testu-Brissy was the first man who was called upon to pay damages for crops which had been trampled by the rustics who flocked to see him.Equestrian ballooning
On 15 October 1798 in Paris, Testu-Brissy completed the first balloon flight on horseback, ascending from Bellevue, Meudon. The horse, which had been trained to stand perfectly still regardless of surrounding activities, endured bleeding from its nose and ears due to the altitude.Gaston Tissandier's Histoire des ballons et des aéronautes célèbres described Testu-Brissy's equestrian ballooning thus :
Contradictory dates
This article currently shows contradictions between sources regarding dates.- Tetsu-Brissy's first flight is loosely reported by some sources as 1785 or June 18, 1786, at 4.50 pm, from the Jardin du Luxembourg to the plain of Montmorency, Val-d'Oise.
- Tetsu-Brissy's 11 hour flight is reported by some sources as 11 May or 18 June 1786 from Paris.
- Tetsu-Brissy's equestrian stunt flight is loosely reported by some sources as 1786, or 1787, or 15 Oct.1798 or October 17, 1798.