7 Reasons Why Hot Air Ballooning Makes a Great Adventure

Want to go sailing the blue skies? Then hot air ballooning is for you. Nothing comes closer to being off the ground and relying on the weather to propel you forward. As with sailing, learning how to rely on the weather's whims is the basis of hot air ballooning. This fact represents a big percentage of the activity's adventure factor. For the remaining percent here's why this feat is a great adventure.

1. No frills, all thrills. No training, no skills, no equipment, just an eager beaver ready to take on the skies. This is what hot air ballooning requires at the most. Everyone can enjoy this activity which is advisable for the whole family. You need not have flying skills or rent expensive personal gear. The most ground learning you will have is a 30 minute safety briefing and you are off!

2. A great way to ease into the idea of flying. Stress free adventure that caters best to those who have fears of flying and heights. The preparation and safety measures of your experienced ballooning crew will surely put you at ease. The gentle take off and sublime soaring, as well as the precise landings will put all your fears to rest as you will only have room to feel relaxed and amazed at the magical feeling of flight that only balloon rides can give. The unrushed and laid back procedures of taking into the air will not at all make you feel scared and anxious. This activity eases you into the great feat of flying as you get to learn and understand its principles.

3. Fantastic sights. If you got into a speeding aircraft, you may fly too fast to even see what beauty there is below. If you were hoisted into the air harnessed to a parachute and towed by a boat, your views may be limited to areas of water. All these are great outdoor activities that make you airborne. But most often than not, the adrenalin surge just keeps the beauty of the scenery masked behind that undeniable exhilaration. Go sightseeing as it was intended to be. Easy going, relaxed and unperturbed. Views of sprawling vineyards, pristine waterways and beaches, magnificent mountain ranges and that perfect morning horizon all in store at a 720 degree view.

4. Be a part of aviation history. Hot air balloons have come a long way, starting from aviation history when man spent countless hours dreaming of taking flight. Aviation at its simplest but most magnificent show. An activity full of rich heritage and nostalgia.

5. A great way to connect with interesting people. What does being in a wicker basket for an hour and being with people of different nationalities, from different cultures have in common? Absolutely nothing. Unless you put both into a hot air balloon. Then you will discover so much in common. This activity is so amazing that you will discover the magic flying has. It bridges cultures, nationalities and penetrates language barriers. The uniting factor? Man's long lived dream of being airborne.

6. Get to know how. Know how it works. Find out how the simplest elements of nature can be consolidated to give way to man's dreams of flying. Adventure starts even on terra firma as you will be amazed at how the balloon is inflated, watching every step as you see a packaged fabric inflate to a magnificent way to fly.

7. A great way to have a relaxing getaway. Seeing how an ordinary balloon can float in the air can be mesmerizing at times. Swaying and dancing to the wind's own, floating dreamily towards the infinite atmosphere. Imagine you are now with that balloon. Seemingly floating away leaving cares to the wind. Balloon fights are one great stress buster. Get swept away even for just an hour and be recharged enough to take on another week of life's daily toil.

The search for that much wanted adventure is now here. Book your hot air balloon flight, and then close your eyes, count to three, then open them to a whole new world of aviation hot air balloon style.

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Why Hot Air Balloon Rides Are Fun for Everyone

Do you want to fly? Do you want to enjoy flying? Ditch the noisy engine and clip the speed hungry wings. Fly like it was intended, smooth, floating and almost in a whimsical manner. There is something about hot air ballooning that can calm even the most petrified of heights. Here is why hot air balloon rides are fun for all.

Among all air adventures, hot air balloon rides can be considered the most relaxing of all aerial activities. Everything is so subtle and easy going. But don't let this characteristic dampen your yearning for thrills. Balloon rides boast of excitement entirely based on a more tranquil setting.

Engaging in a hot air balloon flight is also experiencing an activity that has a rich heritage and interesting history. The whole activity is very interesting to watch as the fabric is unloaded and while you are given a short briefing on ground, you can see the balloon being inflated on its side. As you go along this endeavour, you will know the principles involved in making this colourful balloon ascend and take you up on a splendid ride.

Once the balloon is ready, you board a basket made out of wick, and aside from being light the basket adds a nostalgic feel to the whole activity. Everyone can easily get on board the wick basket; even participants who have disabilities will have no problem boarding. Take offs and landings are gentle and no sudden jerks or power thrusts are there to add to the anxiety of those who fear height or flying for that matter.

Everyone on board will have access to the most relaxing flight that showcases the most invigorating scenery that flying can give. There is something magical about balloons being combined with the principle of being airborne. This alone can bring excitement and awe to different heights.

Hot air balloon rides can be a romantic getaway, the horizon and breath taking scenery as your backdrop a love proposal will always be right aloft a dreamy balloon ride.

It is also a great incentive activity for your top employees as the flight will give them a well-deserved break, with the fantastic scenery that the activity provides; your employees will surely be refreshed and recharged.

A balloon ride can be a great school activity. Hot air ballooning is a great way for children to learn about the simple law of gravity and the principles of how the activity works. It is also a great venue for nature appreciation and discovery.

Balloon rides are best appreciated when done with good company and undoubtedly you will never have a hard time inviting your friends and loved ones on this trip. By far the simplest and gentlest form of flying, hot air balloon rides have all the characteristics of an air bound adventure that everyone will be interested in. Nothing too fast and not bit too slow, it is just the right venture of taking off to the air, and enjoying the gentlest of breezes and the most splendid array of spectacular views all from a different point of view.

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10 Facts About a Hot Air Balloon You Didn't Know

How many balloons does it take to fly? The correct answer is one. And I am not talking of holding on for dear life at the end of a balloon on a rope. I am talking about a real balloon with a basket under it. What do you know about a hot air balloon? They look pretty on the pictures of all the balloon races. Brothers Montgolfier sent farm animals on the first ever balloon ride. Interesting isn't it? Here are some more facts about these gentle giants that grace the sky.

1. Hot air balloons were discovered in the Annonay France by brothers Jacques and Etienne Montgolfier. The first passengers on a balloon ride were animals, a sheep, duck and a chicken. The 8 minute flight took place on September 19, 1783. The brothers demonstrated that even at higher elevations, humans are still capable of breathing.

2. The first free flight by humans was on November 21, 1783 by Jean-François Pilatre de Rozier a physics professor and François Laurent d'Arlandes an infantry major. The vessel was a hot air balloon made by the Montgolfier brothers.

3. The longest balloon flight was by the Virgin Pacific Flyer piloted by Per Lindstrand from Sweden and Richard Branson from the UK. They flew from Japan to Northern Canada on January 15, 1991.

4. Balloon pilots are required to have commercial pilots fixed wing license. They must have these qualifications; a minimum of 35 hours of flight instruction, training for basic aviation, pass a written test for balloons and a flight check from federal aviation officials.

5. Balloon flights are not possible during rain. The heat from the balloon can cause rainwater to boil which destroys the balloon fabric.

6. The largest hot air balloon is the Energizer Bunny Hot Hare Balloon measuring 166 feet tall with a foot size of 98EEEE.

7. Milli Karlstrom from the United Kingdom became the youngest qualified female hot air balloon pilot on her 17th birthday in 2010.

8. Piball. This is an instrument that pilots use to see the exact location that wind blows. It is simply a helium filled balloon. This method helps pilots see if the wind may potentially bring the balloon into restricted airspace and dangerous locations.

9. Balloon flights have a chase crew. True to its term, this is a ground crew that follow the balloon's flight all through the entire trip. The chase crew have vehicles with room to accommodate passengers, the pilot and the balloon itself that can weigh over 250 lbs.

10. A champagne toast is a balloonist's tradition. Legends say that historic French pilots always had champagne to calm angry or petrified onlookers at the landing site. Modern times has taken this tradition and is commonly practised on commercial tours.

Ten items is not enough to be in the know about hot air balloon facts. More interesting characteristics and heritage of this simple yet amazing activity will be imparted to you as you take on a flight. It is an absolute feat that transcends the modernization and evolution of aviation with that same heavenly feel of being in the air the old fashioned way.

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The First Hot Air Balloon

The history of modern hot air ballooning began in France in 1783. Two brothers, Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfiere, launched the first hot air balloon in September of 1783 with an odd trio of passengers - a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. The king and his court turned out to see the spectacle, and they were not disappointed. The balloon rose to more than 1000 feet and then floated down, safely returning its three passengers to the ground.

But the two brothers who became the inventors of modern air ballooning certainly didn't start life as inventors. Their father owned a paper mill, and made sure both of his sons received a good education. Joseph went to a private school and later started a chemical business before returning home to work in the mill with his father. Etienne studied as an architect, but also returned to the family business when his father retired.

In 1782 they became interested in understanding why smoke rose and whether it could be used to lift man into the sky. They began experimenting, moving from smaller balloons to larger ones. By the time they lifted the barnyard animals into the sky, they had already successfully launched an unmanned full-size balloon.

After the barnyard trio's successful flight, the brothers moved on to manned flight. In November 1783, they launched the first manned hot air balloon flight. Pilate de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes were the pilots of the silk-and-paper balloon, and the two stayed aloft for about 25 minutes, ascending approximately 500 feet and traveling about 5 1/2 miles from their origination point in a Paris park.

Legend says the pilots gave champagne after landing to the local farmers to alleviate their fears of the suspicious craft descending from the sky, but he National Balloon Museum in Iowa disputes this story, saying research shows the balloon actually landed in an empty vineyard with no witnesses.

The first manned flight in a hot air balloon was quickly followed by the first gas balloon ride. Just 10 days after the Montgolfier's balloon carried its two human passengers into the sky, French physicist Jacques Alexander Charles launched the first manned gas balloon flight on December 1. It also started in Paris, but lasted much longer; the balloon stayed aloft 2 1/2 hours and traveled 25 miles.

Ballooning quickly took off from there. French balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries became the first people to cross the English Channel in a hydrogen balloon. The crossing took two and a half hours, and nearly ended in disaster - the pilots had to toss most of their ballast overboard after the balloon unexpectedly lost gas and almost fell into the channel. Months later, Pilate de Rozier, one of the two pilots in the first manned Montgolfiere, became the first person to die in a balloon accident as he attempted to cross the Channel.

Blanchard later flew the first hot air balloon in North America, in 1793. But it wasn't until 1830 that Charles Ferson Durant became the first American to pilot a hot air balloon in North America. He lifted off from New York's Castle Garden to drop leaflets that contained a poem he had written about the joys of flight.

The sport never really took off, however, until 1960, when advances in balloon technology led to a new interest in hot air ballooning. Paul Yost, who became known as the father of modern hot air ballooning, piloted the first flight of a balloon sporting a new envelope and new propane burner system he developed. Suddenly the sport took off. By 1963, sport ballooning had become popular enough that the first U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championships were held in Michigan.

Today there are about 5000 balloon pilots in the U.S. and a National Balloon Museum in Indiana.

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How Hot Air Balloons Work

For practical purposes, hot air balloons really can't compete with airplanes and helicopters. They're extremely difficult to steer, and they can only move as quickly as the surrounding winds. But as a recreational activity, hot air ballooning can't be beat. You're outside, feeling the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, drifting serenely over the earth. If you've ever been in a hot air balloon, you know it's an experience you won't soon forget.

Hot air is less dense, and lighter, than cold air. Because it's lighter, it tends to rise. If you've ever taken a dive into a pool, you may have felt this effect in water: the surface water is warm, but as you move deeper, the water gets cooler. That's because warm water is lighter than cool water and tends to rise to the top, like air.

The air within a hot air balloon is heated, and as it rises, it takes the balloon--and anything attached to it--with it. A cubic foot of air within a balloon can lift about seven grams of weight. This isn't a lot of weight, which is why the balloon has to be so big.

The balloon itself is called an "envelope." It's usually made of nylon, which is the perfect fabric for hot air balloons: it's lightweight but sturdy, and it can withstand heat without melting easily.

Below the balloon, a burner is positioned to send a jet of flame upward into the envelope. The burner uses propane as a fuel. The fuel is stored as a highly compressed liquid in canisters attached to the burner with a fuel hose. Because it's so highly compressed, the liquid fuel flows quickly through the hose to the burner when the pilot turns it on. There, it's ignited by a pilot light. The flame heats up the surrounding metal of the burner, which turns the fuel to gas before it gets lit. This makes the flame stronger and the fuel usage more efficient.

If you look at a hot air balloon, you'll notice a big hole in the bottom where the burner is. So why doesn't the hot air escape through the hole at the lower end? Simple: buoyancy. Hot air is buoyant, which means it can only rise--it can't sink and drain out the bottom of the balloon. As long as the air stays hot, it will continue to rise.

It won't rise forever, though. The atmosphere thins as it goes up, and eventually the air within the envelope is too thin to support the weight of the balloon. The more air within the balloon, the greater the buoyancy--so bigger balloons can go higher than smaller ones.

A pilot can cause the balloon to rise by turning on the propane burner and heating the air within the envelope. To bring the balloon down, the pilot releases the parachute valve. That's a vent in the top of the envelope that allows some of the hot air to escape, cooling the temperature of the remaining air within. This causes the balloon to sink gradually.

There are no horizontal controls in a balloon, but pilots can still control the horizontal movement by raising and lowering the altitude of the craft. Winds at different altitudes move in different directions. If a pilot has a good working knowledge of the wind currents in the area, she can raise and lower the balloon to catch a current moving in the right direction.

Still, piloting a balloon isn't an exact science. It's impossible to target the precise location where you'll land. That's why it's usually necessary for someone on the ground to follow the balloon by car to meet the balloon where it lands and transport the equipment.

Launching and landing generally take more work than actually flying a balloon. The inflation process takes only about ten or fifteen minutes, and is done with a powerful fan. Once the balloon is full of air, it will still lie on the ground until the burner is fired, heating the air in the envelope and causing it to rise.

A balloon descends gradually, but can still land with a bit of a bump if the pilot isn't experienced enough to know how to bump the basket along the ground to lessen the impact. The wicker basket helps absorb the force of the landing. Wicker is lightweight and flexible, and absorbs the energy of landing better than a solid, less flexible basket would. This way, riders aren't jarred when the ride is over.

There's nothing like soaring over the earth in a balloon. Hot air balloons are exciting, fascinating, and pure fun. If you've never taken a ride in one, you're definitely missing out on an experience you'll never forget.

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Hot Air Balloons - The Perfect Experience

There is a lot that you should take the time to learn about hot air balloons in general if you want to experience what it feels like, and with all of the companies out there that are offering organized trips in balloons these days it would definitely make sense to learn a bit more about how this whole thing works. Whether you are looking to enjoy your very first trip in a hot air balloon or you want to do it with some friends of yours, learning a bit more about this will make it easier for you to ensure that you get a fun and enjoyable ride up there. The first step to take in this case would be to go online and start things off with a bit of basic online research, which will make it easy for you to find out what your options are.

Keep in mind that it is completely natural if at first you feel a bit nervous about the idea of going up in the air inside of a hot air balloon. After all, you are going to be at a very high altitude above the earth and some people are quite afraid of heights. The thing you should do is research the topic, and if you do this you will likely find that there is really not all that much to worry about. riding around in a hot air balloon is actually an activity that a lot of people think is really safe and the reality is that it is. There are very few accidents that happen around the world involving hot air balloons so you can feel safe when you finally do step into one. However, there are still a few other things that you may want to take into consideration before you hire a company to provide you with this sort of service.

One thing that may be of some concern to you is the total amount of money that you are going to have to spend in order to be able to enjoy the benefits and advantages of air travel from inside of a hot air balloon. There are a lot of companies out there so what you should do is take the time to seek out the one that you know is going to be able to provide you with a cheaper service. This will help you to find a good company that has been around for a long time and that you can really trust to be able to give you the exact type of service that you always wanted.

As you can see, flying around in a hot air balloon is something that you are probably going to enjoy quite a bit so if you have decided that it is the right time to give it a try then there are a number of things that you should look into doing first. Make sure that you find the very best hot air balloon company that can provide you with a decent price.

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Approaching Hot Air Ballooning With Caution

The hot air ballooning, as beautiful as a butterfly, the gentle giant of the skies, a peaceful but exhilarating means of viewing the countryside, suddenly seems a dangerous way to fly. Yet only a few months ago its safety record seemed impeccable.

Now, after four accidents and 17 deaths in quick succession, more than hot air will be needed to restore faith in ballooning as a sport, recreation and tourist delight. Bad luck is not acceptable as an explanation for disasters involving passengers and pilots.

Air ballooning has a long tradition, and it is unthinkable that it should be banned. This would destroy a pleasure and an industry that belong as much as high-powered aircraft to the skies and which are among the least noisome expressions of humankind's determination to be airborne. The Premier, Mr Bannon, is correct in resisting a ban, as he would be if, following glider or light plane fatalities, it was proposed to ground all such aircraft.

But the disasters since August need to be thoroughly investigated, not only to discover whether there are common factors. It must be determined whether the balloons and balloon operators are satisfactorily vetted for safety. Civil aviation authorities and commercial balloon operators appear to be aware of their responsibilities to learn what they can from the four accidents, but the public - potential passengers and people on the ground need to know that structural and safety requirements and pilot skills are of the highest standard. This should be required of any public operation which takes passengers aboard.

As two of the accidents involved collisions with powerlines it may be that new regulations will have to be framed about where balloons are permitted to fly and the knowledge balloon pilots must demonstrate about whereabouts of powerlines and other potential hazards. Vision and visibility may be factors, too, along with ability to react quickly in emergencies; this latter perhaps involving some pre-flight instructions to passengers.

While the helium-filled Double Eagle had virtually no controls and was at the complete mercy of the winds, the pilots of the Pacific Flyer will be able to maneuver the balloon up and down until it is centered in the core of the jetstream.

Ballooning is an adventure, and it would be a tame world that banned provision or enjoyment of adventurous pursuits. The task of authorities is to set standards and see that they are maintained, so that those who take to the air in balloons are not taking a greater risk than they know about.

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