Hot Air Ballooning

[bdahunter]

My wife Susan and I are on vacation in Florida just now and I booked a special adventure for us on this trip. A 3 hour hot air ballooning adventure, including pre-flight, ground crewing the hot air balloons, a free flight and champagne breakfast. The day started with a quick pre-flight discussion and then we headed off in convoy to the launch field where we helped the pilot unroll the airbag and inflate it using a high powered fan, then he fired up the burners.
[attachment 158090 BalloonRide038.JPG]
Soon it was time for lift off and even though it was early and many of us were half asleep, there was nothing but smiles to be seen.
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The lift off occurred without incident and it was a surreal experience to rise without any sense of motion, the other balloons floating gently around us in the calm pre-dawn air. A light mist filled the low areas on the ground.
[attachment 158092 BalloonRide053.JPG]
One of the pilots took his balloon down to a lake for a 'splash and go', just beautiful. (that crew did go home with wet feet but they were happy about it)
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We finished with a Champagne Breakfast and I captured most of the adventure on video and will post it on YouTube once I get it editted. A very fun adventure and one we won't ever forget.
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Cheers All,

Eric

 

[Wayne in BC]

perfect conditions and a heck of a good way to see the sights!

 

[bdahunter]

Thanks Mate, I try to get off the ground in something smaller than a jet every couple of years. Usually a Cessna but I've flown in ultralights too, the hot air balloon took things to a whole other level. There is no wind because you move at the speed of the wind which is low, otherwise you don't fly. Gaining altitude helps to put things into perspective, the cars look like ants and the people are even smaller - problems that seem big when you are on the ground are suddenly smaller and more manageable when you step back a bit.(or up as the case may be)
I really recommend this adventure to anyone who isn't petrified of flying. My wife isn't that keen on flying but she loved this trip because of the stability of the flight. You feel like one of those dandelion seeds that float through the air in the summer.

Amazing,

Eric

 

[George-CT]

I've never been in one YET. The 3 times I went they got canceled due to wind conditions or rain.... One of these days....
Nice pictures. Your living the good life....

George-CT

 

[Micheal_R]

Or is there some measure of control? How do you get back home when you are finished the ride.

Great series

Calm seas

micheal

 

[Cupajo]

Hi Eric,

You get a double WOW!! for this post Mate!!

Looks like a photographer's paradise!

I've read about a balloon gathering out west where hundreds fly every year and often thought how wonderful an experience it might be.

I have a lady friend that is afraid of flying, but loves balloon rides as she feel as though she is in an open elevator and gets so wrapped up in the experience that she doesn't feel any fear.

Thanks for the beautiful post,

CJ

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

and have always dreamt of ballooning over the vineyards of France, I seriously doubt I could handle the "heights".........especially in a rickety basket dangling from cables. Sure looks beautiful though

 

[bdahunter]

Or is there some measure of control? How do you get back home when you are finished the ride.

Great series

Calm seas

micheal

You can only go where the wind takes you but by changing altitude you can change direction if the winds allow. We were initially headed for Challenger Field as our landing area but the lead balloonist made a direction change about mid-flight to Stewart Field. He radioed everyone stating that he was making the change and we followed him through a serious of altitude changes that delivered us right on the button at Stuart Field. (it may help that the lead balloonist is a multiple state champion in hot air ballooning)
If the winds are right you don't fly as safety is always the top priority. I had bought tickets for my wife's aunt and uncle but they chose not to go as she has osteoporosis and thought a hard landing might cause an injury. Nothing like that happened, we landed with the same amount of impact you would feel if you jumped off of a single step on a flight of stairs and landed with both feet, almost nothing.
There is a chase crew that follows the balloons and are in constant radio contact with the balloonists, they drop you off at the launch field and pick you up at the landing field. Naturally you can't circle back to the launch field because of wind directions but in theory it could be done if the winds allowed it.

 

[bdahunter]

and have always dreamt of ballooning over the vineyards of France, I seriously doubt I could handle the "heights".........especially in a rickety basket dangling from cables. Sure looks beautiful though

My wife's aunt always wanted to take that flight in France as she is a Montrealer but she never did and now she is afraid to do it for fear of a hard landing breaking her old and brittle bones. This is just not a realistic scenario but it is real in her mind now and she really regrets not going years ago when she had the chance.
Part of my job sometimes entails climbing out on the boom of tower cranes, that makes me a little nervous - going up in a balloon is far less daunting than looking out over the balcony of a high rise. The basket is so stable because you move at the same speed as the wind which is less than 10 miles per hour. My wife doesn't care for heights and she loved the balloon flight, the only time she was uncomfortable is when I hung over the side of the basket to video the forest below us.
Some of the balloons dipped low onto the surface of some of the lakes we flew over and one dropped down to tree top level so the passengers could pick pine cones out of the trees, it is that stable.
Try it Rob, you will be so happy you did. Plenty of places in Ontario offer balloon rides so you can give it a go without having to fly all the way to France. I think you can even book a flight using your Airmiles.

 

[Royal]

Big Puzzy

 

[Royal]

not sure why I have not done it, I have only been in the area that they were doing it one time. Years ago they had a group around here giving rides for a weekend and I signed up to take my mother for her birthday. On the day it was to happen it was too windy and it was called off. They moved on and I never really had the opportunity since. I guess I could have made the opportunity but never did. I have no idea where they do it in my area.

That looks beautiful from the pictures

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

The day that I went up in that 1939 open-cockpit Stearman bi-plane, I wasn't enjoying it too much Seeing the wing cables vibrating on turns and whatnot, I couldn't get back on the ground soon enough to please me. I was almost as scared as when I last saw a garter snake. That sucker was only about 10 feet away

 

[Royal]

the great thing is that they fly so slow and you can see everything. Didn't it make you want to climb out on the wing?

I found a Gardner Snake next to the house yesterday. Spring has sprung!