Published on December 22, 2008

Hot Air Balloon Flight

Thanks to Montgolfier brothers, who invented the hot air balloons 225 years ago, we have today a great form of entertainment.

Inflating the balloon is tricky. The must be almost no wind, otherwise the balloon will roll over.

Montgolfier brothers' balloons were made of burlap and three layers of paper inside. Modern ones are made of nylon and nomex, a fire resistant material also used in firefighters' protection equipment and the landing airbags of the Mars Pathfinder.

Soon after the first flights the hydrogen balloons became predominant after the British scientist Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen in 1766. In the 1950s balloons with a on board heat source made a come back.

Balloon flights are typically scheduled from May through October for the first hour after sunrise and the last hour or so before sunset as the lack of turbulence is best for safety. At those times you can also enjoy the sunrise or sunset.

Making progress.

As flying a balloon is more or less an art and the balloon is at the mercy of the wind for horizontal moves, the pilot (who must be certified), based on the speed and direction of the wind, will assess the approximate location for take off, so that the landing is close to the meeting point, where you have parked your car. Otherwise another car will pursue the balloon to pick up the passengers and then transport them to the desired location. The pilot will also fly only after checking with the local airport that it is safe to do so.

If you have been in a boat at sea and had motion sickness, do not worry, a balloon ride is quite smooth and tranquil. Parachutes are not provided, so if you are afraid of heights, maybe you should consider other forms of entertainment.

Take off!

Our adventure took about three hours, from inflating the balloon to landing. We flew over rural areas North of Baltimore, being aloft for about an hour at around 300 feet (100 meters). Even at this rather low altitude it is incredibly quiet. The pilot will ask the passengers to help by looking for power lines during landing.

The cost per person is around $200 and reservations are made on first come first served basis and scheduled on a mutually agreeable date. Make sure that if you need to reschedule your flight you do so plenty of time in advance as canceling a scheduled flight with insufficient advance notice to enable finding replacement passengers. Also, failing to show for a flight, or a late arrival that causes you to miss the flight, will result in the forfeiture of funds paid.

We are flying!

Beautiful autumn foliage.

... You can tell the sun in his jealous skies,
when we walked in fields of gold...

So peaceful...

Farm