Virgin Experience Days

Monday 18 October 2010

Hot Air ballooning-a beginner's Guide


The original way to fly from the first known flights of the Montgolfier brothers to more recent pioneers as Sir Richard Branson's record breaking flights, hot air ballooning is one of the most fascinating sport to participate.

Hot air ballooning is probably the slowest way to fly and probably not the safest, but so is the most spectacular it is hard to beat. Reservation of a hot air balloon ride is pretty simple and common there are a lot of hot air balloon company offer excellent flying experience.

In order to take the plunge and booking a flight check out the company and it's experienced pilots as to ensure that the company is certified by the CAA and the pilots are qualified and have a good safety record.

I started to hot air balloon festivals there are some great shows around the United Kingdom, Europe and the States the biggest the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which is held in October every year. In Britain we have 2 good hot air balloon festivals, the largest is the Bristol Balloon Festival and it was a great deal to do and see as well several balloon over two hundred balloons launches participated.

Hot air balloons come in many different shapes and sizes, depending on the use that the really big countries are used to more people and sometimes you for miles that saw this as they have the option to transfer more weight and more fuel on board to contain.

Hot air balloons are hard to pilot and in the early morning or evening should be flown if these are the times that the air most still and manageable for the pilot.During the day can there is too much interference from thermals much hot air rises which can cause the hot air balloon to unstable.

So if you book a balloon trip and its early in the morning please bear in mind it can be very cold at a height of sensible clothing and a woolly Hat be featured items.Listen carefully to the security short from the Centre of the balloon attention often makes for a safe landing.

Knowing what to expect does not prepare you feel like seeing the burner heating of the balloon and are in the basket to wait for the elevator that is carefully controlled by the pilot are smooth as not too fast.

Once in the air it you see the world from a totally unexpected way, as you gliding almost silently over the country. some countries have wild animals this belongs to the biggest ways of seeing wild animals in natural stat without disturbing them.

That is included on many balloon rides in the UK and Europe as well as Africa I can recommend is this an experience you will never forget. However, on the one hand in Africa I was a little pre occupied with not down into a heard of Lions or anything else. Fortunately, as you will see from the balloons are tracked with GPS so that the support vehicle so that they quickly from the air balloon Pack can as it lands.

A hot air balloon is controlled by the pilot concept that air at different heights in different directions moves and the proficiency of pilots is to interpret the weather for the day and adjust the height of the balloon to go in the right direction for the planned flight of the day.

Riding the sky at sunset and Sunrise is a real sensation and look down on our busy lifestyles while driving along the sky makes for a real nice day out. I request you to provide this to put on one of your lists to do before you die and get out there and cloud of hop in heaven.








2008 Andy Bolton 40 Liverpool,

Hot air balloons

Hot air ballooning


Tuesday 28 September 2010

7 Injured in Egypt

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Monday 27 September 2010

Commercial Pressure

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Austria, incident

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Albuquerque Accident

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Planete Balloon

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Conner Prairie plans balloon attraction

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Sunday 26 September 2010

Newton Faulkner link

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Newton Faulkner sings love songs to Ken

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Well-known volunteers recover after balloon crash

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Steve Fossett

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Steve Fosset

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Well done Malaysian pilots and crew.

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Saturday 25 September 2010

Accident 4

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

British Team win Gordon Bennett

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Its been a while

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Balloon accident 2

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Zell am See-Kaprun: hot-air balloons are rising once again

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Australian Air Force upgrades ;-)

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Friday 24 September 2010

Balloon accident 3

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

A flight of fancy for a wayward hot air balloon

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Bank Opens Fund To Help Balloon Crash Victims

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Balloons, many events highlight Feb. 1-3 Hot Air Affair

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Hot Air Balloon



For Hot Air Balloonists the greatest challenge for a long time was crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1978 3 intrepid people piloted a Hot Air Balloon called Double Eagle II the pilots were Ben Abruzzo, Maxxie Anderson and Larry Newman. These managed to do what was considered the impossible and for a few of them this was not the first attempt at trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The Flight Flew from Presque Isle Maine on the 11th August 1978 the flight lasted for 137 Hours and set a new world record in terms of distance.

Typical Hot Air Balloon Flight Information and what you can expect.

Hot Air Balloon trips happen at two times of the day, very early in the morning or the two – three hours before sunset in the evening as this is when the weather is safest to fly. The wind is the most important factor in a Hot Air Balloon trip and you have to expect disappointment as the wind speed can change very rapidly.

Due to high winds and other conditions some hot air balloon trips are cancelled you just have to be patient if it happens then great but it can go wrong. There is nothing quite like a ride in a hot air balloon and the wait is well worth it.

The Pre – Flight setting up of the balloon is something can get involved in as there are always volunteers required to unroll the envelope and general help out with equipment. The inflation of a Hot Air balloon is a spectacular sight.

The envelope is laid out flat and stretched this is where the volunteers come in handy. The envelope is stretched out as far as possible over the land. The pilot uses an inflator fan this is a cool fan for just getting air into the balloon. When semi inflated by the fan the basket and burners are attached to the balloon.

The Hot Air balloon is around half inflated when the burners are lit up and the rest of the envelope is filled up in no time as the air inside starts to expand under heat. Once the envelope is full you will see the Hot Air Balloon start to go from horizontal to vertical this is the tricky bit. The Hot Air Balloon is constantly tethered to the ground during this process.

The passengers or victims depend on how you see it is allowed into the basket to balance the weight in the balloon. The balloon starts to feel weightless as the burner heats up more air inside the envelope. Once you feel the balance shift to weightlessness then the ropes are unsecured and you start to drift slowly into the skies.

A Hot Air Balloon ride lasts around a hour and on a good day you can see for absolute miles and this is fantastic view of the landscape however you consider what goes up must come down and that too can be very tricky. Coming to land is usually bumpy and that’s on a good day depending on how good your pilot is and conditions.

A good pilot will try to land at 45 degrees angle to the floor coming in as gently as possible the basket will land and roll on its side so hold on tight and make sure that no one falls out. There are plenty of hand rails to hold onto and eventually the basket is lying on its side with the passengers horizontal too.

The pilot pulls the chord that allows the envelope to deflate once everyone is back upright and feeling a little better the balloon is packed up and folded away again the volunteers come in handy for this as well.

It is always funny to see who is the most grateful for being back on the ground as once the ride starts there is no going back. Most Hot air balloon rides finish with a glass of champagne and that brings people back to being normal after a very uplifting experience.

For Hot Air Balloonists the greatest challenge for a long time was crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1978 3 intrepid people piloted a Hot Air Balloon called Double Eagle II the pilots were Ben Abruzzo, Maxxie Anderson and Larry Newman. These managed to do what was considered the impossible and for a few of them this was not the first attempt at trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The Flight Flew from Presque Isle Maine on the 11th August 1978 the flight lasted for 137 Hours and set a new world record in terms of distance.

Typical Hot Air Balloon Flight Information and what you can expect.

Hot Air Balloon trips happen at two times of the day, very early in the morning or the two – three hours before sunset in the evening as this is when the weather is safest to fly. The wind is the most important factor in a Hot Air Balloon trip and you have to expect disappointment as the wind speed can change very rapidly.

Hot Air Balloons

Due to high winds and other conditions some hot air balloon trips are cancelled you just have to be patient if it happens then great but it can go wrong. There is nothing quite like a ride in a hot air balloon and the wait is well worth it.

The Pre – Flight setting up of the balloon is something can get involved in as there are always volunteers required to unroll the envelope and general help out with equipment. The inflation of a Hot Air balloon is a spectacular sight.

The envelope is laid out flat and stretched this is where the volunteers come in handy. The envelope is stretched out as far as possible over the land. The pilot uses an inflator fan this is a cool fan for just getting air into the balloon. When semi inflated by the fan the basket and burners are attached to the balloon.

The Hot Air balloon is around half inflated when the burners are lit up and the rest of the envelope is filled up in no time as the air inside starts to expand under heat. Once the envelope is full you will see the Hot Air Balloon start to go from horizontal to vertical this is the tricky bit. The Hot Air Balloon is constantly tethered to the ground during this process.

The passengers or victims depend on how you see it is allowed into the basket to balance the weight in the balloon. The balloon starts to feel weightless as the burner heats up more air inside the envelope. Once you feel the balance shift to weightlessness then the ropes are unsecured and you start to drift slowly into the skies.

A Hot Air Balloon ride lasts around a hour and on a good day you can see for absolute miles and this is fantastic view of the landscape however you consider what goes up must come down and that too can be very tricky. Coming to land is usually bumpy and that’s on a good day depending on how good your pilot is and conditions.

A good pilot will try to land at 45 degrees angle to the floor coming in as gently as possible the basket will land and roll on its side so hold on tight and make sure that no one falls out. There are plenty of hand rails to hold onto and eventually the basket is lying on its side with the passengers horizontal too.

The pilot pulls the chord that allows the envelope to deflate once everyone is back upright and feeling a little better the balloon is packed up and folded away again the volunteers come in handy for this as well.

It is always funny to see who is the most grateful for being back on the ground as once the ride starts there is no going back. Most Hot air balloon rides finish with a glass of champagne and that brings people back to being normal after a very uplifting experience.


Hot Air Balloon Rides




Hot Air Balloon