Ed Yost is credited with inventing the modern propane burner used in hot-air balloons.
Yost was an American inventor and balloonist who developed a practical burner system in the 1950s. His design used liquid propane from pressurized tanks, producing a powerful, controllable flame that could heat the envelope efficiently. This made modern hot-air ballooning far more practical than earlier systems that burned straw, paper or other bulky fuels.
Yost’s work also helped establish the modern balloon layout: a lightweight envelope, a suspended basket and a burner mounted above the passengers. In 1960, he made the first modern hot-air balloon flight using his equipment near Bruning, Nebraska.
Propane is stored as a liquid but vaporizes as it leaves the tank and burner system. The resulting flame heats the air inside the envelope. Yost did not invent the first hot-air balloon—that achievement belongs to the Montgolfier brothers—but he transformed the technology into its modern form.