The Ballooning Experience
There is nothing quite like flying in a hot air balloon. There is no engine pushing you through the air and no fixed route to follow. Once the balloon lifts away from the ground, it becomes part of the wind.
Balloon flights normally take place early in the morning around sunrise or late in the day before sunset. Those are generally the times when winds are lighter and the atmosphere is most suitable for ballooning.
The flight itself is often about an hour, but ballooning is much more than the time spent in the air. Preparing the balloon, inflation, launch, flight, landing, recovery, and the trip back with the chase crew are all part of the experience.
A balloon begins as a surprisingly large bundle of fabric lying on the ground. The crew stretches out the envelope, attaches it to the basket, and uses a large fan to fill it with cool air.
Once the envelope has taken shape, the pilot lights the burners. Heated air causes the balloon to rise upright over the basket. What looked like a pile of fabric only minutes earlier is suddenly a complete aircraft ready to fly.
Liftoff can be surprisingly gentle. One moment the basket is resting on the ground and the next you realize the ground is quietly moving away beneath you.
Because the balloon travels with the surrounding air, there is often very little sensation of wind while you are flying. The burners occasionally interrupt the quiet, but between burns balloon flight can be remarkably peaceful.
That is one of the great questions in ballooning. A balloon does not steer like an airplane or a car. The direction of the flight is determined primarily by the wind.
Pilots can climb and descend to find winds moving in somewhat different directions at different altitudes. Reading those winds and using them well is one of the skills—and pleasures—of balloon piloting.
A flight might pass over neighborhoods, fields, woods, rivers, or countryside. No two flights are quite the same.
While the balloon is traveling through the sky, another part of the adventure is happening on the ground.
The chase crew follows the balloon, stays in contact with the pilot, watches the developing flight path, and tries to be near the landing area when the balloon comes back to earth.
A good crew is an essential part of ballooning—and sometimes getting the truck and trailer to the landing site is an adventure all its own.
Balloon pilots spend much of a flight thinking ahead about where they may be able to land. They consider wind, terrain, obstacles, crops, roads, power lines, and suitable open areas.
Some landings are so gentle that the basket barely moves. Others can include a bump, a short drag, or the basket tipping onto its side. That is part of flying an aircraft whose landing speed and direction are influenced by the wind.
Ballooning is entirely dependent on suitable weather. Wind at the surface is only part of the picture; pilots also consider winds aloft, approaching weather, visibility, thunderstorms, atmospheric stability, and what conditions are expected to do during the flight.
Sometimes the safest and most professional flying decision is simply not to fly.
A tether is different from a free flight. The balloon is secured to strong lines attached to suitable anchor points, allowing it to rise above the ground and descend again while remaining in a controlled area.
Tethering has long been used for demonstrations, community events, and opportunities to introduce people to hot air balloons without making a full cross-country flight.
Ballooning is a wonderful way to explore science, weather, aviation, geography, teamwork, and the simple principle that warm air rises.
Buzzard's Glory pilots have shared the art and science of ballooning with schools, organizations, and community groups for decades.
For Those Who Prefer the Less Technical Explanation
Plan on ballooning taking a few hours. More time may be required if there is any hog wrangling involved.
Friends and family are always fascinated by a balloon launch. Where they should go afterward is another question, because the landing spot is not selected until the wind has had an opportunity to express its opinion.
It is entirely possible for the launch location to change when the winds change direction. Although this may look like indecision, balloonists sometimes do it simply to see how many vehicles they can get to play follow-the-leader across town.
There are no assigned seats, overhead bins, bathrooms, meal service, entertainment screens, or baggage compartments. Somehow people still manage to enjoy themselves.
Landing is not optional. It may be beautifully gentle, or the basket may decide that lying on its side provides a better view of the countryside.
Balloonists have learned that the wind does not read itineraries, respect schedules, or care where the chase vehicle is parked.
And that is a large part of what makes every balloon flight an adventure.
More Than a Flight
Pilots, crew members, friends, families, competitions, festivals, road trips, early mornings, unexpected landings, and stories told afterward are all part of the world of ballooning.
Buzzard's Glory has been part of that world since 1974. Through this site we hope to preserve some of those stories and continue recording the flights and adventures still to come.
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