WI hot air balloon invented 800 ad by arabs?

You could still see enemy troops manuevering and the like.
Yeah, now you just have to get that information to your own troops...

No one has mentioned the most practical use of them yet. Signaling. Over long distances, balloons would be excellent to convey information to other portions of a kingdom or the like.
Only occasionally, because you can only keep a limited amount of fuel up there.

Really, the hot air balloon only becomes useful when you can come up with a more useful method of communication than shouting. Also, how much damage could a ballista bolt do to a hot air balloon?
 
Yeah, now you just have to get that information to your own troops...

Only occasionally, because you can only keep a limited amount of fuel up there.

Really, the hot air balloon only becomes useful when you can come up with a more useful method of communication than shouting. Also, how much damage could a ballista bolt do to a hot air balloon?

Maybe an Ingenious man uses a Glider to communicate information? Might be alot more useful for scouting.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
Only occasionally, because you can only keep a limited amount of fuel up there.
I'd forgotten about fuel. Still, it may be something that could be mastered by, instead of sending the balloon up and keeping it there, only send it up long enough to relay the message(with just enough fuel) and have it come gently back down, and then send it up again, so on and so forth.

Really, the hot air balloon only becomes useful when you can come up with a more useful method of communication than shouting. Also, how much damage could a ballista bolt do to a hot air balloon?
Really, I assumed that if we have hot-air balloons, we'd atleast have flag signaling. And a ballista bolt? It'll cause it to come down, but not rapidly.
 
Really, the hot air balloon only becomes useful when you can come up with a more useful method of communication than shouting. Also, how much damage could a ballista bolt do to a hot air balloon?

3d8.

I agree. The balloons would have poor communication with the ground, and would not stay in flight for very long. I think the best you'll get for, say, 200 years is the advantage of being elevated. This could lead to better cartography, certainly, but the military application(s) would be rather limited.
 
Really, I assumed that if we have hot-air balloons, we'd atleast have flag signaling.
There's a limit on the size of the flags though, and thus, a limit on the range. Might be useful in defending against a siege, or a big set-piece battle, but in a skirmish I doubt you'd get the warning to prepare it, or even have it on hand.
 
3d8.

I agree. The balloons would have poor communication with the ground, and would not stay in flight for very long. I think the best you'll get for, say, 200 years is the advantage of being elevated. This could lead to better cartography, certainly, but the military application(s) would be rather limited.

But Hot Air Balloons can be used to deploy Gliders!?!?
 
It would be interesting to find out what the most primitive (actually useful) lighter than air ship would be like. Something at least marginal steerable and with enough carrying capacity and speed to be at least moderately competitive with overland transport.

Something like that would shake most classic civs to their boots.
 
A man pedalling on a bicycle is not going to move a 50' hot air balloon very fast.
Sorry but this is bugging me (silly I know) but is this a response to my comment? Because I cant see A man pedalling on a bicycle powering a 50' hot air balloon being "carrying capacity and speed to be at least moderately competitive with overland transport" so it just seems a bit out of left field.:confused:



Feel free to ignore I guess, since I was really off topic for this thread with my comment anyway.
 
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