This early airship is why you see ads on blimps

1903

A crowd watches a Spencer airship ascend at the Ranelagh Club in Surrey.

Image: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Though unmanned hot air balloons were used as far back as ancient China, the first manned flights took place in France in 1783

The following decades gave rise to the development of airships, balloons which could be actively maneuvered with motors rather than passively drifting with the wind

Inspired by Alberto Santos-Dumont, who piloted a hydrogen-buoyed airship around the Eiffel Tower, British aeronaut Stanley Spencer set about building a better blimp.

To fund his first airship, Spencer inked a sponsorship deal with baby formula manufacturer Mellin and Company. In return for Mellin bankrolling the construction of the ship, Spencer would make 25 flights with an advert for Mellin’s Food emblazoned across the envelope. Read more...