Empty Balloons getting ready to be filled.
The pilot was attaching the burner while Kathleen looked on. In the background is the balloon in the bag.
The fan to my right filled the balloon with cold air as Kathleen and I held the opening open.
Our balloon is on the right.
As ours rises the other takes off, their baloon was smaller requiring less heat, that is why it took off first.
As we liftoff the chase crew waves goodbye. Other balloons get ready to leave.
This feild launched about 10 balloons in about 20 minutes, it was cool.
The fall colors were amazing.
This was the balloon that took off before us over Spruce Run Resivour.
This was the balloon that took off before us.
This man was our pilot.
This is our shadow.
This was us folding the baloon to put in the bag.
With the balloon in the bag we are ready to go home!
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On September , 2000 my girlfriend Kathleen Silano suprised me with a Hot Air Balloon ride for my 25th birthday. It is something I have always wanted to do. Kathleen is so thoughtful. We called the people to go on the ride and the weather was questionable, so we decided not to go.
We rescheduled the ride for October 21st, 2000. I figured if we had to reschedule we should try to see the fall colors. Kathleen changed the appointment to that day. We went in the evening. The weather was perfect. It was about 75, sunny and calm winds (important for ballooning). The leaves, as I had hoped, were in the peak of their color. I had wanted to help out setting it up and fly if I could, so when the owners arrived they gave us gloves and put us to work. It was fun.
The first thing they did was pull a van with a trailer containing the balloon on to a big feild. They alligned the back of the trailer with the wind so when the balloon was filled it would raise in the right direction. Next they pulled out the basket, attached the burners, cables, and a few other things.
The balloon itself was in a big bag. They had a gas powered fan that would be used to fill the balloon. They powered up the fan and Kathleen and I held the opening up so it could fill with air. That was fun. They unrolled the balloon as it filled and got us ready to get in. It all happens quickly once it is full with cold air.
Next the pilot got next to the basket and shot flames into the balloon heating it up. Once the heat reached the top it almost instantly straightened out and went vertical. The pilot had Kathleen and I get in and two other men that went with us. A little more heat and we were on our way.
As we lifted off the chase crew waived goodbye and we went up fairly quickly. As you can see there were quite a few balloons launched that night from the same field.
The sky was filled with balloons and the fall colors were amazing. Personally I was a little nervous at first because the basket only came up to my thighs and it was a long way down. I got used to that, for Kathleen it was not as noticable because of her size.
We climbed at about 400 feet per minute up to about 2000 feet. We had a great view of Round Valley and Spruce Run Resivours. It was cool. I was very familiar because of all the instructing I did up there. While in the climb we were close to the balloon that took of seconds before us, that was neat. You can see the multi colored baloon in most of these pictures, that was the one next to us on takeoff.
Once we reached our cruising altitude of about 2000 feet the pilot let me fly a little. He explained that there is a lag from the time you light the burner to the time the heat reaches the top of the balloon. He also mentioned that you can't burn for too long so you dont overheat the top of the balloon. There is a temperature guage in the basket indicating the top temperature. I found it very difficult to fly because every time I looked down I was sinking again. After a while he said to go down at about 200 feet per minute. That was not too bad except it would cool off too much and I would be going 400 feet per minute, oh well.
At about 800-900 feet I leveled off and the pilot asked what I was doing. I said I thought that was low enough, he told me to keep going, we were going to get lower. I kept descending and when I got to within a few hundred feet I got nervous and the pilot took over flying. I enjoyed my hand at flying, it was very challenging.
We descended to the tree top level and flew there for a while. We passed a bunch of houses and the people would come out and wave, that was fun. We could even talk to them we were so close. We went even lower once to pick some leaves. The bottom of the basket touched the leaves and we all got a handful of leaves.
Shortly after that he started looking for a place to land. The balloon is at the mercy of the winds so we just flew along until something suitable came up. We saw a couple houses with big yards and decided to land there. The pilot uses a combination of the burner and the round thing in the top to let us down. The round thing has a string attached where he can let out air. As we cleared the trees he pulled the rope letting out the air so we would sink into the yard rather than float past it. We sank to the grass and bounced back into the air, he felt it would be best to try the next yeard, so he lit the burner lifting us back into the air. We cleared a few more trees then he opened the hole again and we settled into a yard. Again we bounced and he was trying for the road. He said if he got to the road it would make it easier so we would not have to drag the balloon to the car. We came to a firm stop in the road (almost never used) and the baloon started to fall on to some trees. He lit the burner again to keep the baloon up until the chase van came, but unfortunatley because the wind had pushed it over some he burned a small section of the balloon.
I hopped out and grabbed a rope attached to the top and started dragging the baloon away from a fence and trees that it was falling on. The chase van showed up and everyone got out and started to help get the balloon into the road. The baloon deflated in the road we bundled it all up and put it back into a big bag. The crew stored all the gear and we drove back in the van to the launch site. On the way back they said that they would bring the balloon to a an FAA Approved Repair Station and have the balloon mended over night. I guess that happens about once a season.
The ride was about 12 miles back so it took a little while. Once we got back they put out a table and Champaine for all of us, we had a little toast and relaxed a little. It was a great conclusion to a great experiance. We both had a great time ballooning, I would reccommend it to anyone. As for Kathleen, she is the most amazing thoughtful woman I have ever met. She got me a wonderful birthday present, I am so happy we shared it together.
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