Hot Air Balloon Sunday

As you all are aware of, we're taking a break in April from any weekend organising. It's all paperwork for us for the past month but on the 2 + 3 May weekend, we'll be back.

Since we're too used to working during weekends, we're restless + had decided to have a go at a hot air balloon experience on Sunday morning, albeit thetered air balloon 'flying'. :op

w00t! w00t! anyway. ;o)

A little Wikipedia-ed history: The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers.

A hot air balloon has three essential parts: the burner, which heats the air; the balloon envelope, which holds the air; and the basket, which carries the passengers.


Hot air ballooning is a participatory sport; you just can’t do it alone. That's the participants helped in setting up the balloon envelope.

The participants went propping up the basket next. The basket holds the passengers, propane tanks and navigation equipment. Most hot air balloons use a wicker basket for the passenger compartment. Wicker works very well because it is sturdy, flexible and relatively lightweight. The flexibility helps with balloon landings. Wicker material flexes a little, absorbing some of the energy. Even so, during landing you're supposed to bend your legs to absorb the shock.

A hot air balloon is partially inflated with cold air from a gas-powered fan, before the propane burners are used for final inflation.

It was a team effort; both the instructors + students, old + young chipped in to inflate the hot air balloon.

Apparently, to fly a hot air balloon, you'll need a Pilot License + during flying you'll have to be regularly in touch with the local Air Traffic Control + the ground crew. This is because even the most experienced pilot doesn't have complete control over the balloon's flight path. Usually, wind conditions give the pilot very few options. Consequently, you can't really pilot a hot air balloon along an exact course. Unlike flying an airplane, hot air balloon piloting is largely improvised, moment to moment. For this reason, some members of a hot air balloon crew have to stay on the ground, following the balloon by car to see where it lands. Then, they can be there to collect the passengers and equipment. So there will be a lot of communications going on and the pilot regularly used his walkie talkie and handphone to coordinate with his ground crew.

Would love to fly on a hot air balloon one day, but will skip piloting it though. ;o)

Errr ... too much writing serious paper is making me write a report-esque account of the experience. D'oh! :op

We'll be seeing you on 2 + 3 May 2009 @ Jeumpa D'ramo, between 10 am - 6 pm ya?

xoxo