10 Hot Air Balloon Facts

Going on a hot air balloon ride is an exhilarating experience. There are many locations across the UK where you can go on a balloon flight - you can probably find one not far from your hometown. Many people love the idea of going on this experience but do not know much about air balloons. Here are a few interesting facts about these large transporters.

hot air balloon

1. Air balloons are not very practical as a mode of transport if you need to get somewhere specific. This is because they cannot really be steered and only travel as fast as the wind is blowing.

2. The way they work is based on science; warmer air rises in cooler air. This is because hot air is lighter than cold air and has less mass per unit of volume. One cubic foot weighs about 28 grams.

3. A balloon has three main components. The burner that heats up the air, the balloon envelope that holds the air and the basket to carry passengers.

4. Modern hot air balloons burn propane which heats up the air - this is regularly used when camping for outdoor cooking grills.

5. It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to arrange a launch which is a lot longer than landing and packing away the balloon.

6. Once a pilot decides to land they have to confer with the ground crew via radio to decipher the best place to land. This needs to be wide open space with no power lines that the balloon could catch on. A balloon landing can be bumpy!

7. Pilots call a weather service a few hours before the flight to obtain the most up to date and accurate weather before the flight. Air Balloons cannot fly in strong winds, rain or reduced visibility.

8. Some pilots will release a piball (pilot balloon) which is a normal balloon filled with helium to see which way the wind is blowing before deciding where to launch from.

9. There is a 30 second delay between the burners being blasted and the balloon actually lifting, so finding the right altitude is tricky. Therefore pilots have to manage the controls just a bit before they want to rise to a certain point to sustain consistent hot air balloon flights.

10. Hot air balloon rides were established in 1783 when the Montgolfier brothers sent a sheep, a duck and a chicken on an 8 minute ride over France in their first balloon invention!

hot air balloon pictures

Published August 26th, 2011

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