Its a state of mind.... Since mine has faded away you get what you get....
Balloons come in all shapes and sizes and this is only some regular shape balloons. Special Shape balloons are a whole "nother" animal!
Names/Words of the day!
Burner. The engine/s of the balloon! 32 million BTU per burner for some awe inspiring thrust!!!
Uprights. Uprights were designed to keep the burners from smacking you in the head upon landing. In the old days... Eric remembers these days... oh.. um.. in the old days.. there were no uprights... and the burner was attached to the basket with ropes or cables Then attached to the balloon envelope... Dangerous. But they did it. Now.. most uprights are made of tubular metal or a mylar plastic rod. tapered or not tapered. Keeps them up, off your head and stable...kinda.
Wicker. Most baskets are made from wicker... why you ask.. because they can! No really.. because it gives and bends and cushions those things inside the basket called victims.. no no passengers! Yeah! Yeah!!
Propane Tank. Or tanks... Normally balloons carry 2 15 gallon tanks full of propane... Special tanks.. not anything like your BBQ tanks. Some balloons carry 3 and some carry 4 of sizes to include 10, 15, 18 and the number 20.... yup!
Hoses. HOSES!!! Hoses attach the propane tanks to the burners. Super strong but never yank or pull one. Not safe.. not fun.. not nice! They used to be rated for the lifetime of the balloon but some impressive and unfortunate accidents caused them to now be replaced every 10 years. Im all for safety!
Upright Covers. How can you be in cover if your upright.... Ask my brother .. he can tell you... Upright covers are not necessary but very good at protecting the cables that attach the balloon basket to the envelope via the burner frame. They will also cover the Fuel Hoses that also run up the uprights on most balloons. There are different types of covers as there are balloons. They are usually padded and nice so you dont bonk your head off them. They are.. bonkable.
Load Tapes. Load tapes run all over a balloon envelope. consider the lilys.... no... wrong movie... conside the balloon without the fabric... you would have an upside down basket of load tapes. The load tape vertical and horizontal lines are a support structure for the envelope to be attached to. They hold the balloon together. Really.
Flat Top Basket. Some baskets are flat across the top bolster.. some are like a saddle and swept down between the widest set of uprights... Flat topped is safer... swept top is easier to get in and out of. Its a choice of the Pilot. I perfer to look like an idiot getting in my basket but not feel like I am going to fall out... I have had both...
Bolster. This be the word they use in taverns like "Bucket of Blood" in Pirate moves to hold your courage to... as in.. Bolster his courage to the headboard... oh where did I go with that picture.. whew!
Ah yes... no.... Bolser is the upper padded leather cover on the top part of the basket. It protects you and the wicker from bumps and bruises whilst your supping mead in Ye Bucket of Blood! RIGHT.. ...When landing!!!!
Weight On. Yelled by the Pilot when feeling rather full... That was easy... Weight On is called when the Pilot wants the basket stabilized right after the Hot Inflation. The balloon is standing upright.. The crown line handler is holding the top of the balloon securely. Even with a teather attached a balloon system will whip about in the morning breezes... so "WEIGHT ON" when yelled means put your weight on the top edge of the basket to hold it down... Took a long time to get to that one.
Hands Only. This delightful call is issued from the throat of the wild chipper Peelot ... in the periwinkle part of the bird family... Ah.. yes.. turn the page.. yes.. right... now.... Hands only.. yes..um... The Pilot calls hands only when he wants to check how buoyant he is to the temperature he is reading on his instruments. This tells him how hot he has to be for the weight he is carrying.... usually followed by the Yell of WEIGHT ON again.
Para-vent. Para Vent is the type of vent found in most Aerostar balloons. It means that the crown of the balloon does not freely float in the top of the envelope but is attached at two points. Two thirds of the crown is secured to the top by butterfly springs and the other one third is attached by velcro.
I have some other words but lets let that rest for a bit...
All full of knowledge and ready to get your first ride.... and its taking how bloomin long to get there.. sheesh... well you could have read this as you were traveling to said launch site but then you would have missed all the cool flora and fauna ( rabbits by the bus full ). Never mind.. now you can refer back to this blog after or during your adventure as it will come out on a cell phone too.. Yes... amazing technology.
Here is an interesting picture for you....
What your looking at... Blue padded cylinders.. two 15 gal propane tanks. Foam rubber rings to save you from hitting metal. Padded flat leather covered upper bolster.
The yellow straps you see were not on the names and words list but are there to hold the tanks securely in the basket.
The black bottom floor bit your seeing in the middle is the padded floor. Under that is a marine grade solid plywood floor with two holes in it. I dare you to ask about the holes!!! Some baskets have wicker floor you can see through. There are even plexi glass floors that are totally clear ( I wanted one of these but was outvoted ). So.. that is about one inch of foam floor which protects passenger and Pilot too. Its even got its own special one of a kind cover that the foam slips into.
The red sides are also pads to protect passenger and Pilot. You can also see the drop line on the left side in the blue pack half way down the basket. Visible on the left and right inside are two of the red handles to hold onto of the six total in there.
Lindstrand balloons in Galena Il will cause your mind to blow out your ears in the ways they impress you. I'm still impressed.... it has not worn off... nope!
Weight of propane is...... still no takers?
