This is my opinion so..... ( subject to modification at any time ).
Every landing of a hot air balloon is a controlled crash. Sounds scary huh! Its not. How about....
Every landing of a hot air balloon is a processed evolution that the Pilot in command makes depending on the situation he/she has seen and adjusted for to bring the contents of the basket ( aka Passenger/Crew ) to a safe and unharmed return to earth..... Better?
Any news that you hear that says a balloon crashed is probably garbage reporting. Any reporter worth their weight in chicken scratch would have gone out and found a Hot Air Balloon Pilot and got a ride ( we Pilots loved to fly reporters ) and learned the ins and outs of this type of flying and never report a standard landing as anything but a standard landing... even if its in the middle of a street..
If you hear the wild report of a crash... verify and check to be sure you are not just getting a pile of that huuey.
HABs or Hot Air Balloons have no wheels, no brakes, nor rudders or control stick. It is in fact seat of the pants flying. We launch from where every and land over there. We can set up a course and an idea of where we might want to land but as soon as the envelope hits the wind currents and the basket is off the ground all those plans are worth squat.
So what the heck does the Pilot do to get back down safely? He/She finds currents of wind going in the direction they want to go or he/she goes the way the winds take them and lands as safely as possible at the end of the flight.
There are two different ways to land.. like a helicopter or like a fixed wing aircraft. Helicopter landings are gently descending to lightly touch the ground and the fixed wind landings are when you descend quickly to impact onto the ground and drag to a stop ( like a plane without reverse thrust ). Both are fully under control...even if it does not look like it. If a Pilot needs to hit a specific spot to get you safely on the ground they will drop in at a speed that is safe but is rather jarring. Always hold on, always listen to the Pilot, always bend your knees.
Changes in wind direction happen all the time, so swift and almost constant pre thinking of your landing plan is a norm for HAB Pilots. Follow their instructions. Even soft landings can be amazingly odd at times.
Last word.. or second to last word.. Have fun. Almost every flight is a bunch of fun and the landings are something to tell "yarns" about.
Last, last word... Never believe what some no brain bobble head is trying to tell you without you checking it out on your own.
Wow.. that was some major soap box stuff there....
We had a lot of fun with the flying this weekend. We flew a 1 year old for her birthday safely in the arms of her parents and we watched one of our framily gain her winds as a Private Pilot. We also enjoyed the heck out of getting more new friends into the air for the first time.. its what we do this for.
Some pictures below and some other pictures as well.... statements for each shot....
Here we see PITAS Kiss HAB and the crew positioned correctly to open the throat during cold inflation. Notice the left foot on the edge of the scoop and the hands not wrapped in line. Also not in direct path of fan air. Great crew!
The birthday girl with Dad.. giving the photographer the stink eye....
Nearby flying ultralight.
See the speck in the lower left corner.. yeah... great lens reach. LOL Sony RX10V4. Get U 1!
PITAS Kiss descending into the loving arms of the crew. So soft a landing that the passengers didn't know they were down.
Crew taxiing the balloon through a narrow gap in the fence to lay the system down in the parking lot.
Correct and honorable and proper handing of the American flag. Good parenting there. Good kids there.
Here we see one of the most difficult jobs to packing a balloon away.... Its a rough life.
Laid out and prepped for bagging.
Another photo shoot pose for Mama...
Yes... she is loving every bit but is holding out for her own cake later.
A good time from very iffy weather at the beginning. Waiting in that field in the middle ( almost ) of nowhere for an hour and a half paid off. Lovely flight.
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Today ( Sunday ) There was family to fly and friends to watch on their Check Ride to get their HAB Licence. Another awesome day with no wait to launch as the winds were going straight up until you hit about 200 feet then they went west then about 800 feet they went South... and all that changed right away.
The below shots are selects from about 120.. those from the 760 shots total. Many dupes or different distances away and slightly different angles because you never quite know what is perfect....
Oh.. the size of these do them little justice as they are awesome enlarged.
Morning test burn against the Sandia Mountains. See the spiral in the yellow?
A diffused moon. It was a thick atmosphere this morning.
A lift off and a licence at the end of a great flight.....
Going East then heading West.. a fun time to try and guess where you were going minute by minute.
So fabric to fabric touching is fine.. these two need to find a room. Really they were not close at all.
Civil Air Patrol is very Civil.
One of our local ride companies cruises into our launch area gracefully. Love the close medium and far aspects of this shot.
Special shape.. special shape.. no really just trying to get the balloon to go down with only a little weight in the basket....its hard to do quickly. Someone needs cement shoes or at least some sandbags.
And there were so many shots I could fill this blog up with but not this time. You will have to visit my website for the whole set....
http://invisibleblack.zenfolio.com/
Here are some outtake shots I really liked..... because I can.
X marks.. not this time. This is just where a positioning line is attached inside for the crown. Need to know more.. Come ballooning.... Nice stitching though.
What a perfectly lined up shot.... yeah.. cheated. But I love the color glow.
You pretty much have to hug the basket and be very close to anyone else to get this shot from outside of that basket. Another cool patterns of colors. Lindstrand Envelope.
A Kubicek basket has very large runners on the bottom. Keeps the bottom of the basket happy. The line ( rope ) is the tether to secure the balloon to the vehicle so it does not leave before its required to.
Digitool instruments that are now set for HABs. Nifty little things. Have not had the chance to fly with them yet.
A HUGE crevasse I had to cross to get to the other side... yeah... HUGE! okay.. not that huge.. but I did stick the truck in 4 wheel drive just in case.. heh.. nice and smooth and off after the balloons again.
On the overlooking hill watching the chase crews fling up dust as they head off to chase their balloons. Even at 5 mph the dust was everywhere.... so... its the desert.
It was a load of fun and the tail gate after was also a lot of fun... though a bit hot. Again.. its the desert.
Now all I have to do is close this blog out and then upload those hundred or so shots to the web site and I am done for the day....
Oh.. have to look up what FULL means on the Sony. Hit that one today for some reason.... not that the chip was full.
Happy week to you all.. See you in seven.
