Hot air balloons move with such grace. However, it is the physics of lift and the art of steering that fascinate me. I never had a chance to ride in one, and due to a slight fear of heights, I have been somewhat hesitant. We learned that our planned trip to New Mexico overlapped with a major balloon festival, so this was my chance to challenge myself and have some fun at the same time.
The Feista
The Exxon-Mobil Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta bills itself as the world’s premier ballooning event. It began in 1972 with a mere thirteen balloons. Now, more than fifty year later, the Feista hosts nearly 700 balloons, 800 pilots and lasts nine days. It occupies a permanent 350 acre site on the north side of the city and is a major driver of the economy.
We booked a prime, “mass ascension” slot.
Early morning wake up call
Sherry and I arose at 3:30AM on our second day in Alburqueque. We got to the park quickly without encountering too much traffic, parked our car and cleared security to gain access to the fairgrounds. We were bundled up because the temperature was in the 50s, but luckily, there was little wind. We then waited on the “Rainbow Riders” line to check in to our flight and were assigned to a balloon and a captain.
Pre-dawn sky-show
After checking in, we were able to get up close to several balloons being inflated. We enjoyed walking by the light of the moon and watching the pilots set up their enormous machines. They initially inflated the balloons on their side with cold air driven by fans. When the cold inflation was finished they turned on the gas jets to make the balloons vertical. There’s a special moment when the sleeping balloon receives enough hot air and becomes vertical and the cabin tips over.
Once the ceremonies began, we were treated to an opening drone show, then the balloons we saw being inflated became the “dawn patrol.”
These initial flights tested the air currents and helped to inform the other pilots what the winds were at various altitudes.
Meeting our captain and crew
A little while later we met our captain, crew and the ten other passengers for our ride. I was wondering how all of us would fit in the small wicker capsule.
Captain Pete Brunner gave us a briefing, and my first thought “he is a serious guy.” Serious in a good way. He reminded me of my friend Doug (see adventure #31 Soaring with Doug), safety always comes first. Pete has been flying nearly every day for more than 20 years, and he knows his stuff. That made me happy.
There are flaps at the top of the balloon which need to be operational, cables which need to be tangle free. The cabin needs to be securely fastened. During the briefing he asked for volunteers and I was assigned to work one of the inflation fans.
All aboard!
Things happened very quickly. Once the cold inflation was complete, I shut off the fan and gave back my safety vest. I quickly unloaded my camera and sunglasses from my backpack, which was staying on the ground in the chase vehicle.
Captain Pete was inflating the balloon and it almost came upright on top of me! I became the last person onboard.
Being inside the basket actually felt roomy even with twelve passengers. Sherry and I were together on the opposite side from the captain’s area. Since this was a mass ascension, balloons were lifting off all around us. We got one of the crew to take a quick picture of us, and then we were aloft!
Magic
Going up was magical, like being on an open-air three dimensional elevator, with balloons of all shapes and sizes rising all around us. Other than each other’s laughter and voices, the only sound we heard was the occasional firing of the heating jets, so it was peaceful and fun.
We learned from Pete that he has only a couple of controls: he can add hot air to the balloon to create lift via one of three burners, he can rotate (spin) the balloon via flaps in the very top of the balloon, or he can remove hot air from the top, causing us to descend. The art of steering is done by understanding the direction of the wind at various altitudes and ascending to the air that is blowing in the desired direction. A good captain (like ours) has become wise enough to be an amateur meteorologist.
I also learned something. A glider pilot can see up clearly, but not down – so the lower plane is responsible for staying clear of overhead traffic. A balloon is just the opposite, we can see down, but not up. So as we were hovering, and balloons launching below us, it was our responsibility to rise or move to the side to stay clear of them.
We slowly drifted west as we watched the sun come up. We were among hundreds of balloons of all sizes and shapes on our 90 minute ride (it felt much shorter!) Some of our favorite were a devil, tiger, pirate and the racing balloons shaped like teardrops.
Stick the landing
Captain Brunner promised during our briefing to explain the landing procedure once we were in the air. He brought the balloon down slowly in an open field and just before we landed he told us to lean to one side, hold the straps and bend our knees. Then the cabin gently touched down. No drama. I like that!
After the chase car arrived and the balloon was packed, we celebrated our successful ride (and landing!) with a little champagne.
I absolutely loved the experience and will look for opportunities to do it again.
Maybe after I take a nap!
