Interview with a hot-air balloonist

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Draugvan

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Original poster
Fellow roleplayers! I had the good fortune to put forward some piercing questions to a man who has flown a hot-air balloon. I listed an array of questions, which are answered below in his own words. He has given permission to post this here, and I hope his experience can be of use to you all in building authenticity in your writing.



At certain bench mark heights (e.g. 1000 ft, 5000 ft, etc) what do you experience?
Tranquility, total silence. Hot air ballooning is done just after sunrise, or end afternoon before sunset. This is because the thermal influences of the sun (especially in summer) cause up- and down-going columns in the air which can cause danger.

Most of the time in these periods it is very quiet outside.

You can look around 360 degrees which is amazing (something you cannot do in an aeroplane).



Is there a certain feel to take-off, like how an airplane throws you into the seat?
Going up in a balloon is like going up in an elevator. The big mass of the balloon prevents it from changing altitude fast.



How stable is the basket in flight?
Very stable. The basked is made of cane, which is one of the few materials that can withstand the beatings a basket sometimes gets to deal with (during landings). Cane is very strong, and can easily take the weight of passengers and equipment.

The basket is always in perfect balance under the balloon. It doesn’t swing or shake.



How wide is a single-person basket?
I don’t think a 1-person basket exists. Most standard size balloons (77000 cubic feet) have a basket for 3 medium size or 2 bigger size persons (+3 or 4 gas cylinders). The size of this basket is, 1.25 m x 1.10 m x 1.20 m (LxWxH) and the (empty) weight 65 kg. I have seen a 1-person balloon once (they are quite rare) where the pilot was sitting/hanging in a harness with the gas cylinder directly attached under him (made it look like he was sitting on the gas cylinder).



Do different shapes of balloons affect things (e.g. acceleration or resistance to shaking)?
Sometimes, often during ballooning events you see ‘special shape’ balloons. They have a different shape than the conventional balloon shape. There are numerous examples, like jeans, bears, pigs, bottles, even a manor. They are very difficult to fly and very sensitive to wind. Therefore, you only see those balloons when there is less than 3 knots of wind.



What level of noise/wind do you experience?
You don’t. A balloon is has almost the same mass as the air surrounding it, and is moving with the same speed as the air.

The only noise you hear is the occasional burner activity.



I have read that passing through a cloud will cover you in vapor. Is this true?
Balloonists avoid clouds as much as possible for different reasons. The most important reason is because you cannot see the ground. And since balloons are not equipped with any electronics, navigation is purely visual. So in a cloud, you become practically ‘blind.’

Another reason clouds are avoided is because they are cold, so the temperature difference between inside and outside the balloon suddenly gets a lot greater, which turns the balloon in a skyrocket once it hits the cloud. This could be a dangerous action. Also when a balloon is above a cloud, it is quite hard to go downwards through the cloud for the same reason. The balloon suddenly wants to go up, once it hits the cloud.

And to answer the question: humidity in a cloud is very high, so yes you could get quite wet if you stay in the cloud long enough.



At what height do you fail to make out what people say on the ground?
Wind, temperature and humidity are of great influence on sound distribution through air. But under normal circumstances at 30-40 meters you can still hear people or dogs (they bark at balloons).



At what height do you fail to make out detail (e.g. people, cars, houses) on the ground?
Balloons don’t normally go to altitudes where you can’t make out details anymore. Most balloonists fly at around 3000 ft where you can still see detail on the ground.

Once during a flight I was in, we went up to 10,000 ft (maximum height you should go in a balloon).

At 10,000 ft you cannot see people anymore, but you can still make out houses and cars.



How do you control direction of flight?
You don’t. The wind is the only factor that is responsible for the direction in which you fly.

Experienced balloonists have a can of shaving foam in their balloon, which allows them (when they drop blobs of foam down) to spot different wind directions below the balloon. Knowing that, they can change altitude to try and change the fly direction.



How long does it take to prepare a balloon from arrival to take-off?
That takes about 1–1.5 hours. That is not only preparing the balloon, but most important are all the safety checks.



How many people are most often involved in preparing a balloon?
You need a minimum of 4 people. Our balloon team had 3 for a long time, but during the preparations there are always spectators who can help when you need an extra hand.

Once the balloon is in the air with the pilot and passengers, the 2 remaining team members pack up all the gear, use a compass to determine the direction in which the balloon flies, and follow the balloon to the place where it finally lands.



How do you transport the balloon to the take-off site?
In a trailer. The balloon itself is packed in a protective canvas cover, which fits into the basket and with the burner on top and the gas cylinders besides the basket, you can transport a balloon in a fairly small trailer. This is of course based on the balloon (A 'Thunder & Colt 77A') we used in the team that I was involved in.



What are the primary dangers to look out for when flying or preparing the balloon?
The weather. When a pilot plans a flight, the first thing he/she does is contact the meteorological service at the nearest airport. They are best equipped and always provide the best and most accurate data.

Hard wind, rain but also nearby low- or high-pressure areas can be reason to cancel a flight.

Once you’re up in the air the most dangerous factors are:

· Timing. If you fly end afternoon, you must land before sunset. After sunset you cannot see above-ground power cables anymore.

· Lakes and the coast. Balloon flights usually take 1.5 to max. 2 hours. You simply have no capacity to carry more gas. If time runs out while above a lake, you have a problem.

· Cattle. They can be easily stressed, and as a balloonist you are responsible when livestock goes crazy and cause damage, or worse, dies. Livestock are very sensitive to the frequency of sound that comes from the burner. Therefore a balloon has, what they call, a 'cattle burner' where a special valve on the burner is used so that the gas to bypasses the coil in the burner. The gas then is sprayed into the flame in liquid form which gives a less powerful, yellow flame that does not produce the high-pitched noise that livestock get stressed by.​
 
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