free balloon

American  

noun

1. a balloon, often equipped to carry passengers, that drifts with air currents and whose ascent and descent are controlled by the release of ballast and buoyant gas.

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Other Word Forms

• free ballooning
  noun

Example Sentences

Contacted by Scientific American, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the agency has comprehensive regulations for U.S. operators to safely carry out unpiloted free balloon flights.

From Scientific American • Feb. 23, 2023

Hardin, Mont. Altitude Sirs: Kindly inform me as to the maximum altitude obtained by any aviator whether in airplane or free balloon.

From Time Magazine Archive

So everybody who walks into Scott's office says, 'How about free balloon rides at five grand?

From Time Magazine Archive

Dr. Auguste Piccard, professor of physics in Brussels University, last week ordered a 2,000-volt dry battery as equipment for a specially constructed free balloon with an airtight cabin.

From Time Magazine Archive

A free balloon, moving in the profound silence of the upper air, becomes an admirable sound observatory.

From The Dominion of the Air; the story of aerial navigation by Bacon, John Mackenzie