BARTAIR - Ballooning

Ballooning

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	gg	Ever since Bertrand Piccard and Bryan Jones flew around the world in a Montgolfier balloon, hot-air balloons have been associated with an image of quiet contemplative flight.No other mode of flight results in such a sense of peacefulness and serenity.
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Participants at our centre take great pleasure in this simple and efficient mode of transport and also delight in the beauty of the countryside bathed in gentle light just after dawn when such flights normally take place. The balloon's imposing size and its ability to skim over trees and houses make this type of flight one of the most pleasurable modes of transport. Some balloons are now equipped with auxiliary engines and are classed as micro-lights, with the capability of executing certain basic flying manoeuvres.

A bit of history…

The Greek mathematician Archimedes established the following scientific principle which was subsequently named after him: A body immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid (an experiment carried out on buoyant matter).

15th November 1782: Joseph Montgolfier, then 42 years old, discovered that when he held his shirt with the collar fastened over the hot air from a fire, the shirt inflated. He then decided to make a one-cubic square taffeta cushion and when he filled it with hot air, it rose to the ceiling. Following some further experiments, the 37-year-old Etienne reported their findings to the Academie des Sciences in Paris.

April 1783: The Montgolfier brothers built their sizeable balloon, with a capacity of 800 cubic meters. The balloon weighed more than 220 kilos and the air inside was heated using a straw-filled metal furnace. In the course of several test flights they noted a surprising amount of lift. So much so, that on April 25th two employees took off unexpectedly and thus became the first men to fly! The balloon broke free and rose up 400 meters.

15th January 1784: The first trial flight of the Flesselles took place. This gigantic aerostat (i.e. a craft which is sustained in the air by buoyancy) measured 23,000 cubic meters. The first trial flight was a reasonable success but the craft was poorly loaded and this impaired its ability to fly. Joseph Montgolfier then decided to limit the number of passengers on board but his second attempt at boarding was even less successful than the first: none of the original passengers was willing to disembark and an additional passenger managed to sneak on board!
As a result, it was difficult for the Flesselles to take off and it landed again after only 15 minutes. The flight was not exactly a huge technical success but it greatly impressed the people there. Tens of thousands of people rushed to the landing spot shouting, "Mister Montgolfier, this is a miracle!" The whole country buzzed with the news. Those previously passionate about flying were now overjoyed at the progress of events.

Hot-air ballooning today

Around 1900 a gas burner was invented by Louis Godard but it wasn't efficient enough to be used with a hot-air balloon. The modern hot-air balloon only evolved during the 1960's following the discovery of new materials and, more importantly, the development of propane burners. Since then there have been no major changes in the shape of hot-air balloons or in the technology involved.

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Technical details

A hot-air balloon is made up of three main components:

The gondola or basket.
Wicker baskets with a wooden floor are still used today. Despite the development of new materials, wicker remains the toughest and most resilient material for constructing the gondola.

The burner.

The propane burner introduced in the 1960's has not changed much since then. The principle is very straightforward: pressurised propane gas in liquid form is stored in bottles. The liquid is converted to gas by passing it through a vaporising coil and it can then be ignited. Once the air in the balloon is heated to around 100 degrees, the balloon becomes lighter than the outside air. Pilots must learn to heat the air at just the right moment when in flight. Heat is not applied continuously but in progressive bursts. Pilots must anticipate how quickly the air inside the balloon is cooling, as there is a vital delay of around ten seconds before any new application of hot air from the burner becomes effective.

The envelope.

The envelope is the colourful "balloon" part and is made from heat resistant, rip-stop nylon. It is coated internally with a thermal plastic which helps contain heat. This may melt slightly if in direct contact with flames from the burner but will not catch fire. The envelope is attached to the gondola with steel cables. The shape of the envelope is very similar from one model to another. Some balloons designed for advertising may be shaped to represent particular objects but these are generally too unstable to carry passengers.

How is the hot-air balloon inflated?

It needs at least two people to inflate a hot-air balloon, a pilot and a crew member. To start with cold air is blown into the balloon using a fan. When the balloon is about two thirds full, the pilot uses the burner to heat the air inside the balloon until it rises into an upright position, ready for take off.

Is it possible to steer a hot-air balloon?

A hot-air balloon moves in the same direction and at the same speed as the wind. It is therefore only possible to change direction by making use of winds blowing in different directions at different altitudes. A ground vehicle, traditionally called a "shuttle", follows the balloon's course and meets up with it, wherever it lands.

How high does it fly?

Balloon flights are often made at fairly low altitude - between 150 and 300 meters (while taking into account air navigation rules). Balloons can just as easily skim the local treetops (especially shortly after take-off or before landing) as fly to an altitude of 3,000 or 6,000 metres. The world altitude record for a hot-air balloon is said to be more than 19,000 meters. This may, however, be incorrect and Piccard claims in his journal that the world record is only approximately 10,000 meters.

When is it possible to fly?

A cloudless sky and light winds are the ideal conditions for flying in hot-air balloons. Storms, rain or high winds generally make flight impossible. In summer, flights usually take place just after dawn or just before dusk and normally last 2-3 hours. At these times of day, winds are generally light and there are few thermal currents. In winter, if the meteorolical conditions are right, it is possible to fly all day long.

Is it possible to fly anywhere?

No, as with all aircraft, hot-air balloons are subject to current air navigation rules. It is the pilot's responsibility to be familiar with these and to abide by them. Public events require special authorisation from different authorities and there is a lead-time in obtaining such authorisation.

How many passengers can a hot-air balloon carry?

Generally, hot-air balloons will carry between one and 6 or 7 people depending on the balloon volume, which can vary from 1,500 to 6,000 cubic metres. The current record stands at 45 people in a balloon with a volume of 24,000 cubic metres.

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