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The Most Frequently Asked
Questions About Hot Air Ballooning:
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IS THERE A FEELING OF MOTION
DURING FLIGHT?
No, there is nothing that makes the basket sway in
flight. It hangs motionless in the air mass
that surrounds it. If you hold a candle in your
hand as you fly it will not flicker. Probably the
best description of flying in a hot air balloon is
that it feels like you are on a balcony, with the
ground
moving slowly below you. There is no "elevator"
feeling. It is amazingly smooth and tranquil.
IS IT COLD IN THE BASKET WHILE FLYING?
Since
cold air sinks to the valley floor, it is not
unusual for inflight temperatures to be 10 to 30
degrees warmer
than on the ground. Since you are
moving with the air mass, there is no wind chill
factor. The sun provides
additional warmth as well
as the radiant heat from the burners above you. We
frequently advise passengers
that are "bundled up"
to leave extra layers of clothes on the ground
right before takeoff so they
don't overheat in flight!
HOW FAST DO BALLOONS FLY?
The speed of the balloon is the speed of the wind
wafting it along. No flights will be launched if it
appears that we will excede 10 mph on landing. 5 mph
is an ideal speed, one walks at 4 mph.
IS AGE A CONSIDERATION?
We accept children age 3 and over,
and
our most chronologically gifted passenger to date was 97. You must be in good physical shape for your age, have no pre-existing medical condtions that in the opinion
of your doctor
would prevent you from flying. Passengers must be fully ambulatory, with no previous unhealed injuries, able to
walk at least one mile unaided as well as climb over a stationary 5
foot obstacle 2 or more times without assistance.
HOW HIGH DO BALLOONS FLY?
In general,
we fly close to the ground on takeoff when
conditions allow. We also fly thousands of feet above
ground.
The current record for a manned hot air
balloon flight is 65,000 feet above ground! (That's
twice as high
as jetliners normally fly) We rarely
fly over several thousand feet above ground. No two
flights are ever
identical.
CAN YOU STEER A BALLOON?
There is no device with which to steer, but our highly
skilled and professional pilots are remarkably adept
at using wind direction at different altitudes to
frequently "rudder" their aircraft.
WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING ARE BALLOON PILOTS REQUIRED
TO HAVE?
All of our pilots are required to have a Commercial
Pilots License issued by
the Federal Avaiation
Administration (FAA). Due to the sophisticated
equipment we fly they are additionally
required to
have experience flying in desert and mountain terrain.
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OK, chest thumping time. Click here to find out why we're the BEST CHOICE for your flight!
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Click here if you're a weenie and want to go back home and stay on the ground.
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