Gone with the Wind- Manual for Gas Ballooning by Walter Muller, Astrid Gerhardt, and Gerhard Hurk, (Sept. 2002)

This is the only gas ballooning instruction manual available at this time.  It is a great book with detailed information about flying quick fill gas balloons.  It is a tremendous resource.  This book is only available through the German Balloon Federation.  Please contact them at this address:

DFSV Wirtschaftsdienst GmbH
Versandstelle Fax +49-89-89949193
dfsvwidi@web.de

 This is probably the most comprehensive book about gas balloons that is still readily available.  It provides very detailed information about gas balloon construction.

This book is rare but can still be found on Abebooks.com or in some of your college libraries.

Theory of Ballooning No. 1-305 by the US War Department (Oct. 1940).

The manual covers the factors involved with flying of free balloons and the proper handling of equipment pertaining to that activity.  Manual has extremely useful Information.

This information is available in a PDF file at the Goodard Library - Balloon Technology Collection. Search for item: BT-2361.   You must request the file from the library. Check out their site at:

Goddard Balloon Technology Database

 Available as a TM-1-305.pdf

The manual is very difficult to find.  It is available in copy form only.  This is a manual written for the military and discusses the netted gas balloon.  It is very interesting and provides good detailed information about how the balloons were build, how gases are produced, weather and flying. The the information is dated but still provides useful information.  Available as a pdf.

Technical Manual of Aerostatics No. 1-325 by the US War Department (Oct. 1940).

This a short manual about the study of aerostatics as it applied to airships and balloons.  It has detailed information about Lighter than Air aircraft, the atmosphere, physical properties of gases, pressure and temperature and short methods of computations.  Available as a .pdf

Document Number:  02840 in the NCAR Archieves.

Available in .pdf file.  ( This is a very large file)

This book is a complete treatise on their manufacture, equipment, inspection and handling with special instruction for the training a a field balloon company.

This book is rare but can still be found on Abebooks.com.

This book is produced by the Federal Aviation Administration and deals with flying Hot Air Balloons in the USA.  It is the newest instruction book about flying balloons.   It does not speak specifically to flying gas balloons but it is a good reference book.