| The Hot Air Balloon I went up in was a rainbow of | | | | open balloon. It takes a lot of practice to get the feel |
| colors, one of three owned and operated by a local | | | | for achieving that near exact balancing act between |
| ballooning company. For $125.00, a ride of at least | | | | ascent and descent. |
| forty minutes duration is promised and we were aloft | | | | The growing popularity of ballooning is reflected by |
| for just under an hour. It's certainly serene when | | | | the number of meets, the largest (certainly the |
| floating along through the air, but it is deafening when | | | | oldest) of these probably being in Albuquerque, NM, |
| the pilot turns on the burners! A sharpening breeze | | | | where the meet has been in operation for thirty-four |
| blew our balloon further adrift that expected and we | | | | years. In 2005 there were over 600 balloons |
| landed in a pasture amidst an interested herd of | | | | participating, most from the western United States, |
| Hereford steers. The chase vehicle soon arrived, the | | | | but also a few hardy souls who shipped their balloons |
| pilot popped open a celebratory bottle of champagne | | | | in from Australia, the UK and elsewhere around the |
| (as promised in their literature), and I inquired about | | | | world. Officially termed the Albuquerque International |
| booking another flight! | | | | Balloon Fiesta, this year (2006) it will be running from |
| Hot Air Ballooning is very popular nowadays, with | | | | October 6 -15, with over 700 balloons expected. |
| clubs and ballooning companies offering rides and | | | | Another interesting aspect of hot air ballooning is the |
| even instruction for wannabe pilots. However, the | | | | advertising facet. Clever designers and fabricators |
| pastime is not new on the scene, in fact the very | | | | have come up with balloons that look like most |
| first hot air balloon rose from the ground in 1783. In | | | | anything that one can imagine. Last year at a local |
| France, the Montgolfier brothers were the early | | | | meet, I saw such oddities as Barney the Dinosaur, |
| developers, sending up tethered balloons with no | | | | the Planters Peanuts man, a Shell Gas Pump, a soft |
| passengers, then experimenting with first geese and | | | | ice cream cone and Senator Foghorn the Leghorn |
| then a dog, and finally mustering the courage for two | | | | from cartoons, just to name a few. Some of the |
| men to try it. The next step was an untethered | | | | larger ones, like Barney, seemed quite unwieldy both |
| balloon, which stayed up for 23 minutes flying over | | | | to inflate and to fly. Balloonists sell advertising or |
| Paris, landing in a park in the Bois du Boulogne. They | | | | enlist sponsors to underwrite their ballooning activities |
| had little control over their balloon, a condition that | | | | and it seems to work out fairly well for all concerned. |
| exists to a great extent to the present day; basically | | | | Most balloonists I've talked to have a well-developed |
| the pilot still goes where the breeze blows him. | | | | sense of humor, a necessary asset when dealing |
| If you actually need to get somewhere, a hot air | | | | with the vagaries of the prevailing winds. Our pilot |
| balloon is a fairly impractical vehicle. You can't really | | | | told us this story; mostly I think to divert our |
| steer it other than rising or descending to find | | | | attention while passing over an open stretch of |
| crosscurrents in the wind, and it only travels as fast | | | | water. |
| as the wind blows. Hot air balloons are based on a | | | | A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is |
| very basic scientific principle: warmer air rises in cooler | | | | lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. |
| air because the hot air is lighter. A cubic foot of air | | | | He lowers the balloon further and shouts: "Excuse |
| weighs roughly 28 grams (about an ounce). If you | | | | me, can you tell me where I am?" The man below |
| heat that air by 100 degrees F, it weighs about 7 | | | | says: "yes you're in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet |
| grams less. Therefore, each cubic foot of air | | | | above this field." "You must work in Information |
| contained in a hot air balloon can lift about 7 grams. | | | | Technology" says the balloonist. "I do" replies the |
| That's not much, and this is why hot air balloons are | | | | man. "How did you know?" "Well" says the balloonist, |
| so huge -- to lift 1, 000 pounds, you need about 65, | | | | "everything you have told me is technically correct, |
| 000 cubic feet of hot air! | | | | but it's no use to anyone." The man below says, |
| Inside the balloon's envelope there is a constant | | | | "You must work in Management". "I do" replies the |
| variation between the pressure of the hot air against | | | | balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well", says the |
| the top of the envelope versus the pull of gravity. | | | | man, "you don't know where you are, or where |
| The pilot's objective is to maintain equilibrium | | | | you're going, but you expect me to be able to help. |
| between the two forces through the judicious use of | | | | You're in the same position you were before we |
| the propane-fueled burners, which are mounted on | | | | met, but now it's my fault. |
| the gondola, which in turn is suspended under the | | | | |