Inside the High-Flying World of Hot Air Balloons

UP, UP 1 AND 1 AWAY INSIDE THE HIGH- FLYING WORLD OF ноT AIR BALLOONS AN INFOGRAPHIC HOT AIR BALLOON BASICS $18,000- $100,000 COST OF A TYPICAL HOT AIR BALLOON IK IK IK IK 4,000 NUMBER OF HOT 3. MINIMUM CREW AIR BALLOONISTS IN THE U.S. REQUIRED TO FLY A BALLOON INCLUDES A PILOT AND TWO "CHASERS" ON THE GROUND WHO PICK UP THE BALLOON WHEN IT LANDS PARTS OF A HOT AIR BALLOON PARACHUTE VALVE ALLOWS THE PILOT TO LET AIR OUT OF THE PANELS TOP OF THE BALLOON THE LONG TO CONTROL DESCENT SECTIONS OF FABRIC ENVELOPE THAT MAKE UP THE THE ACTUAL BALLOON PART OF A ENVELOPE HOT AIR BALLOON IS REFERRED TO AS THE ENVELOPE, TYPICALLY MADE OUT OF A SPECIAL GORES NYLON FABRIC TWO PANELS STITCHED SKIRT I CHANNELS WARM TOGETHER FORM A RIB-LIKE GORE AIR INTO THE BALLOON CABLES ATTACH ENVELOPE TO BURNER UNIT AND BASKET BURNERS BURN PROPANE FUEL TO HEAT THE AIR THAT FILLS THE BALLOON BASKET--. CARRIES PASSENGERS AND FUEL. BUILT AROUND A RIGID TUBULAR STRUCTURE. OFTEN MADE OF WICKER, FIBERGLASS OR ALUMINUM FUEL TANKS VALVE LINE CONTAIN LIQUID PROPANE THAT FUELS BURNERS USED TO OPERATE PARACHUTE VALVE HOW HOT AIR BALLOONS FLY ASCENDING 5. HOT AIR FILLS THE ENVELOPE. BECAUSE HOT AIR IS LESS DENSE IN A VOLUME THAN COLD AIR, THE BALLOON BEGINS TO RISE 4. THE BURNER HEATS THE AIR INSIDE THE ENVELOPE 3. THE FLAME HEATS THE COILS AND THE LIQUID PROPANE RUNNING THROUGH THEM IS VAPORIZED INTO A GAS, BUILDING A MORE POWERFUL FLAME 2. THE PILOT LIGHT IGNITES THE PROPANE, WHICH STARTS A FLAME 1. COMPRESSED LIQUID PROPANE RUNS THROUGH HOSES TO THE HEATING COIL WHY DOES HOT AIR RISE? HOT AIR MOLECULES COLD AIR MOLECULES 02 N2 02 02 02 N2 N2 02 02 N2 3 02 N2 BECAUSE HOT AIR MOLECULES ARE MORE ACTIVE THAN COLD AIR MOLECULES, THEY SPREAD OUT FROM ONE ANOTHER. THAT MEANS THAT THERE ARE FEWER AIR MOLECULES INSIDE THE BALLOON'S ENVELOPE. THE PRESSURE FROM THE DENSE COLDER AIR OUTSIDE THE ENVELOPE PUSHES THE BALLOON UPWARDS DESCENDING ONCE THE PILOT TURNS THE BURNERS OFF, THE AIR INSIDE THE ENVELOPE WILL BEGIN TO COOL AND THE BALLOON WILL DESCEND FOR A MORE CONTROLLED DESCENT, THE PILOT CAN USE THE PARACHUTE VALVE TO LET HOT AIR OUT THROUGH THE TOP OF THE BALLOON HOT AIR BALLOON HISTORY INVENTED IN FRANCE IN 1783 FIRST (SUCCESSFUL) HUMAN-CARRYING FLIGHT TECHNOLOGY SACRE BLEU! THE FIRST MANNED THE CREW CONSISTED OF A SCIENTIST, DE ROZIER, AND FLIGHT FLEW FOR 5.5 MILES OVER PARIS AND STAYED UP FOR ARISTOCRAT 23 MINUTES D'ARLANDES HOWEVER, THEY WEREN'T THE FIRST HOT AIR BALLOON PASSENGERS. PRIOR TO THEIR FLIGHT, A ROOSTER, A DUCK, AND A SHEEP WERE SENT UP AS THE FIRST HOT AIR BALLOON TEST PILOTS THE SHEEP WAS CHOSEN TO TEST THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON A LAND ANIMAL, WHILE THE DUCK AND ROOSTER, WHO WERE BOTH CAPABLE OF FLIGHT AT DIFFERENT ALTITUDES, WOULD ACT AS CONTROLS FOR THE EXPERIMENT SHORTLY AFTER THE HOT AIR BALLOON'S INITIAL FLIGHT, GAS BALLOONS WERE INVENTED. THESE HYDROGEN-FILLED VESSELS SOON BECAME MORE WIDE USED THAN THEIR PREDECESSOR BALLOONS MEANS OF WATCHING ENEMY TROOP FOUND USE IN WAR AS A MOVEMENT. THERE WAS EVEN ONCE A BALLOON DUEL IN 1808, TWO FRENCHMAN CAUGHT IN A LOVE TRIANGLE DECIDED To TAKE THEIR DUEL TO THE AIR. ONE SHOT THE OTHER DOWN, KILLING HIM UPON LANDING. BALLOONS WERE EVEN USED DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. ESTABLISHED BY THE LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION IN 1861, THE UNION ARMY BALLOON CORPS WAS USED TO O THE CONFEDERATES o CONDUCT RECONNAISSANCE ON THE CONFEDERATE ARMY RESPONDED WITH THEIR OWN BALLOON, WHICH DUE TOA TRADE BLOCKADE HAD TO BE MADE OF FINE DRESS BOTH PROJECTS WERE SHORT-LIVED, SILK AND THE BALLOON CORPS WAS RETIRED IN 1863 MODERN HOT AIR BALLOONING WAS BORN IN 1960, WHEN ED YOST LAUNCHED A BALLOON WITHA NEW NYLON ENVELOPE AND PROPANE BURNER SYSTEM OF HIS OWN DEVISING. YOST'S FIRST BALLOON WAS BASKETLESS, WITH NOTHING BUT A SIMPLE SEAT FOR HIM TO RIDE ON, BUT IN A FEW SHORT YEARS HE AND OTHER BALLOON ENTHUSIASTS WOULD DEVELOP BALLOONS MUCH LIKE THOSE USED TODAY. BY THE MIDDLE OF THAT DECADE THERE WERE THREE BALLOON MAKERS IN THE U.S., AND THE SPORT OF BALLOONING BEGAN CATCHING ON. FESTIVALS AND COMPETITIONS BEGAN POPPING UP AROUND THE COUNTRY. HOT AIR BALLOON FACTS HOW BIG ARE HOT AIR BALLOONS? 55 FEET WIDE THE TYPICAL BALLOON CONTAINS.. MILES OF THREAD 1,800 SQUARE YARDS OF NYLON FABRIC THAT MEANS THE TYPICAL BALLOON IS LARGER THAN YOUR HOUSE 1/2 MILE OF REINFORCED NYLON WEBBIING DEFLATED, A BALLOON WEIGHS ROUGHLY 800 POUNDS WHEN INFLATED, THE TYPICAL HOT AIR BALLOON CONTAINS 90,000 CUBIC FEET OF HOT AIR THAT'S ABOUT THE SAME AS A GIRAFFE BALLOONS CARRY WHEN INFLATED, A BALLOON CAN WEIGHT 2.5 TONS (5,000 POUNDS) 20 TO 45 GALLONS OF PROPANE IN THEIR TANKS, OR, ABOUT THE SAME AS A MALE WHITE RHINOCEROS AND USE APPROXIMATELY WHERE ARE HOT AIR BALLOONS STORED? THE ENVELOPE IS PLACED IN A HEAVY DUTY NYLON BAG, WHICH IS OFTEN STORED IN EITHER: GALLONS PER HOUR SELF STORAGE UNIT TRAILER MOST BALLOONS STAY ALOFT FOR ABOUT AN HOUR, DEPENDING ON TEMPERATURE AND THE WEIGHT OF THE BASKET BALLOON TRIPS TRAVEL AN AVERAGE OF ABOUTE 10 IT TAKES TO INFLATE AND MILES LAUNCH A BALLOON APPROXIMATELY MINUTES HOW HIGH DO HOT AIR BALLOONS FLY? 70,000 FEET 68,986 FT, HOT AIR BALLOON WORLD RECORD SET BY VIJAYPAT SINGHANIA, 64,997 FT, PER MUMBAI, INDIA 1988 LINDSTRAND, 1988, PLANO TX 60,000 FEET 60,000 FT, CRUISING ALTITUDE ONCORDE JET 39,000 FT, CRUISING ALTITUDE OF A COMMERCIAL AIRLINER .... ... 37,000 FT, RUPPELL'S VULTURE, HIGHEST- FLYING BIRD 30,000 FEET OUAR ------- 29,029 FT, MOUNT EVEREST 3,000 FEET 2,722 FT, BURJ KHALIFA, WORLD'S TALLEST BUILDING 1,000 - 3,000 FT RANGE OF MOST HOT AIR BALLOON FLIGHTS 2.000 FEET 1,766 FT, ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER 1,454 FT, EMPIRE STATE BUILDING 1,000 FEET- 986 FT, EIFFEL TOWER 455 FT, GREAT PYRAMID HOW FAST DO HOT AIR BALLOONS FLY? AS FAST AS THE WIND TAKES THEM! HOWEVER, PILOTS OFTEN WON'T TAKE OFF WHEN WINDS SPEEDS ARE >8MPH ON THE GROUND PILOTS CAN CONTROL THEIR SPEED AND DIRECTION BY MOVING BETWEEN WIND CURRENTS AT DIFFERENT ALTITUDES THE VIRGIN PACIFIC FLYER, PILOTED BY SIR RICHARD BRANSON AND PER LINDSTRAND, REACHED SPEEDS OF 245MPH IN ITS FLIGHT ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN WHERE CAN I SEE THE MOST HOT AIR BALLOONS AT ONCE? THE ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA IS THE LARGEST BALLOONING EVENT ON EARTH HELD EACH OCTOBER IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM, THE i FIESTA FEATURES MORE THAN 500 BALLONS AND ATTRACTED 850,000 ATTENDEES IN 2013 SOURCES http://mentalfloss.com/article/52180/10- strånge-facts-about-hot-air-balloons http://www.skydrifters.com/about/ http://www.hotairbaloon.org/vermont/ fag.html http://www.hotairballoons.com/ hoi air balloon facts.asp nvaloft.com/2013/02/14/fun-facts ntp//www.balloonride.com/07frequent htm about-hot-air balloons/ http://www.mccookballoonfest.com/learn/ http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/ raqintmi vehicles/hotairballoons html http://science.howstuffworks.com/ transport/flight/modem/hot-air- Daloemhthm Fittp://www.hationalballoonmuseum.com/ Exhibits/BalooningHistory.aspx THIS INFOGRAPHIC WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY http://www.udel.edu/PR/UpDate/98/4/ SpareFoot http://www.high5ballooning.com Lilululul http://www.eballoon.org/balloon/how-it works.html http//hobbies whatitcosts.com/buy-hot-air- balloon.ht http://www.balloonfiesta com/guest-guide/ fajs http://www balloonfiesta.com/ news/310/57/2013-Albuquergue- nternational-Balloon Fiesta Event-Overview