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