About Hot Air Ballooning

"In the 1700's when ballooning begun, they often landed on farms. The farmers had never seen balloons before and greeted balloonists with a pitchfork. The balloonists learnt to carry a bottle of champagne to show the farmers they’d come in peace and quite often they still do today (carry champagne, not pitchforks)."

The experience of hot air ballooning allows a person to hover high in the sky with a birds eye view of the lands below. Most of the time you’ll undergo the unique breezeless feeling of silence and stillness as you drift along with the wind.

The Birth of Hot Air Balloons

The first time hot air balloons were utlized is unclear with speculation that lantern type balloons may have been used by the Chinese for military signalling. The very first actual recording of a balloon flight with passengers took place in France in the year 1783.

Hot air balloons can fly extremely high, the current highest recording taking place in Bombay India , year 2005 at a height of over 21 kilometres above sea level.

"Before the first recorded balloon flight in 1783, experimentation of hot air balloons as a passenger vehicle involved sending farm animals like sheep and roosters into the sky"

What are Hot Air Balloons made of?

The balloon is made of strong fabric which the top third or so is coated with a sealer like silicone to ensure air cannot pass through.

"Though the spherical shape of the hot air balloon is most efficient, they can take the form of almost anything including animals, buildings, planes or other promotional and novelty shapes"

Safety of Hot Air Balloons

A common concern people have about hot air balloons is what happens when the burners fail to operate or run out of fuel? Unlike a plane, they don't just fall to the ground; instead the balloon itself acts like a parachute as it returns to the ground.

A pilot will always establish whether it is actually safe to fly in the lead up to flight day and on the actual day itself.

When do Balloons Fly?

You may notice that most balloon flights occur early in the morning at dawn or a couple of hours before the sunsets. As lovely as it is, the timing for flights isn't to watch the sun set or rise. Winds are usually at their lightest and there are no vertical air currents (which are caused by ground heating) so launching, landing and controlling the balloon is easier/safer.

The Balloon Ride: Steps/Stages

Before the Ride

• Check for suitability of weather that results in reasonable visibility and light winds
• Establish a take off point where the winds will lead the balloon towards suitable landing sites while avoiding hazardous areas and obstructions

Setting Up

• The balloon is unpacked, laid on the ground then connected to the basket and burner
• A fan is used to blow air into the balloon, just till it has basic shape, then the burners are used to warm that air up
• A crew member called the "crown man”" holds a rope attached to the opening of the balloon to stabilise the balloon and ensure it doesn’t rise during heating of the air inside

Lift Off

• When the balloon is standing upright, the passengers and pilot climb into the basket.
• Heating of the air continues then it’s off, off and away!

Flying

• The ground crew pack up remaining equipment and follow the balloon in a "chase" vehicle
• Directing the balloon is achieved by ascending or descending into wind currents which are going in different directions.
• Establishing where these wind currents are located is achieved in a number of ways.
• No fancy computers or equipment, the spraying of some shaving cream or even spit and watching how it falls is a way of seeing the flow of the wind
• Sending up a helium balloon before the flight is a good indictor
• Watching for signs like flags, smoke, other balloons etc all help the pilot paint a picture of the wind
• Looking up forecasts prior to the flight will tell the pilot what the high winds above the balloon will be doing

Landing

• Landing the balloon will more than often involve some dragging across the ground which many find an exciting component
• For a smoother landing, pilots will attempt to land in an area broken from the wind around trees or in a valley
• The chase vehicle will either be waiting or not too far behind to aid in the landing, packing up of the balloon and pick up of passengers.