STEVE PEARCE PHOTOGRAPHY
Hot Air Balloon Flight Experience!
There's no such thing as a definite balloon flight schedule - only suitable weather! High winds on Friday night, continued into Saturday morning. Having organised everything for a Balloon meeting photo-shoot, I was beginning to worry that it may all have been for nothing. On Saturday afternoon however, the weather cleared into a beautiful clear blue sky and we were on! Balloon flights are generally planned for shortly after sunrise or a few hours before sunset, as during these hours the weather normally calms and winds drop. A perfect photographic subject!
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Pulling the balloon out of the trailer, the package is fairly small, but reassuringly heavy.
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The first thing you notice when unpacking the balloon that is going to be holding you in the air at typically 1000-2000 metres, is how flimsy and tent like the material is! There are some thick, double seamed lines alright, but mostly I was thinking tent! |
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Things get even better when you realise you're going to be flying in a wicker basket packed full of gas canisters! |
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I had a childhood memory of a balloon taking an hour or more to fill with air, but this turned out to be very wrong. Those fans have the balloon filled with air in 5 minutes or so. |
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A couple of blasts on the burner and the balloon is then upright. I was really quite caught out by how fast everything happens - there's certainly no time to worry about the balloon material and the wicker basket full of gas! |
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When standing next to or in
the basket, the first time you hear the sound and feel the heat from the
burner is quite incredible. It conveys a real feeling of power! We landed in a field amongst trees and the sound of the burners echoing around the clearing at 7:30am on a Sunday must have woken anyone sleeping in the farmhouse nearby! |
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When the balloon is upright, it's a case of get in the basket quick, and only a couple of short blasts from the burner and we're off. I was again caught out by how quickly the balloon gains height. I'd planned a series of shots as we took off, but barely had time!
Again, no time to be scared!! |
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Watching the balloons is like watching a fairground ride as they all float up and down, constantly changing positions and forming new patterns in the sky. |
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Being so high in the air and floating over sleeping villages in absolute silence is a strange feeling. You can hear dogs barking and cows mooing - almost in annoyance as they see you floating over their territory! |
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The silence is only interrupted by the roar of the burners now and again. It's surprising how little seems to be needed to keep us 'afloat' - although the burner is pretty powerful! |
The part of ballooning that most people seem to worry about is the landing. On our flight, there was not too much wind, so we had a smooth touch down and didn't tip over. There are handles to hold onto inside the basket just in case it does tip, but I was told that this is more the exception than the rule. With regard to where the balloon lands, you are of course mostly at the mercy of the wind in terms of direction, but when you come down can be controlled by releasing air out of a vent in the top of the balloon. Some element of steering or at least rotating the balloon so as to land in the right position is also possible by opening flaps in the side of the balloon so that it turns.
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After the flight there is an initiation for first time flyers involving Champagne - the details of which are a secret. Don't worry - there's generally some left over to put to the more traditional use! |
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Then, it's back to fill up the gas tanks.
Cigarette anybody? |
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And judging by the smiles on everyone's faces, they're as happy as pigs in..... |
Overall it was a great experience. I think most people have some anxiety before the flight if they stop and think about what they are actually doing, but for me everything went so fast, such thoughts soon left my mind. Once you are in the air, it's so peaceful and unlike any other kind of flying experience, that fear was definitely not one of the things I felt.
Many thanks to Sabine Lösch and Uwe Storkan of Berlin Ballooning, with whom I made first contact and arranged all the relevant permissions to shoot these images. Thanks also to Frau Hesterberg of Gut Hesterberg for permission to shoot on the take off site. And last but not least, thanks to the Aeronautic-Team and the Sabo balloon team for the chance to experience a balloon flight!
Fancy doing it?
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In Berlin: |
In Cologne-Bonn area of Western Germany: |
View 4th Berlin/Brandenburg Balloon Meeting Gallery 2004
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