On October 22, 1960, Paul E. ‘Ed’ Yost made the first free flight of a modern hot-air balloon from the former Bruning Army Air Field. The flight lasted 25 minutes and covered 3 miles. Humans first flew in 1783 in a hot-air balloon conceived and built by the Montgolfier brothers in France, 120 years before an airplane flew. Hot-air ballooning languished until 1956, when Ed Yost received a contract from the Office of Naval Research to develop a practical hot-air balloon. Yost designed the shape of the envelope, pioneered the use of nylon, and developed propane heaters that made controlled and sustained flight possible. While working on scientific balloon projects, he made many airplane flights from Raven Industries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Texas, flying directly over Bruning Army Air Field. After launching 2 large helium scientific balloons from Bruning, Yost decided it was a good location to test the new hot-air balloon because it had open space with few obstructions. The modern hot-air balloon first flown there transformed ballooning from an elite activity to a sport open to thousands of balloonists worldwide.