If you enjoyed “Around the World in Eighty Days,” you may dream of someday lifting from the earth in a giant balloon. You may also imagine what it would be like to be whisked by a gentle breeze through billowy clouds, and to watch the sun come up over the nearby mountains, lighting up the golden valley far below.
Our first ballooning experience was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but it is also quite easy to arrange a hot air balloon ride in the California Wine Country, the Ogden Valley in Utah, and many other places that have still morning air and wide open vistas.
We arrived in Albuquerque the afternoon before our great adventure. After checking into our hotel, we called our "carrier" to get details on where and when to meet. Our phone instructions reminded us of a Dashiell Hammett novel. They went something like this: “Get up tomorrow morning and drive to the outskirts of town where you will find an empty parking lot. Be there by 6am. Your balloon pilot will walk up to your car, and introduce himself.” We later learned that the early hour rendezvous was necessary because that is when the air is most stable and there is no breeze to interfere with a safe lift-off and comfortable flight.
The next morning at exactly the designated hour, our FAA “licensed commercial balloon pilot” (really, that's his rating) arrived on the scene in a van pulling a brightly colored trailer that housed one gigantic balloon, and one large woven basket (that hangs suspended from the balloon), and all the sundry equipment necessary to get us up into the wide blue yonder.
Our pilot's name was Todd and he immediately won us over with his enthusiasm and animated description of the morning's event. He also introduced us to the two other couples booked on the same balloon.
Gathering the group into a semi-circle, Captain Todd began his pre-flight briefing: “First, we will all board the company van, and drive until we find a suitable launch site. Sometimes it is possible to launch right from where we are standing but not today.”
A balloon pilot must select a launch site that will allow him/her to guide the balloon in the general direction of a good landing zone. However, the landing site may change several times during flight to accommodate shifts in the prevailing breeze.
Within a few minutes of our orientation, we were bouncing along in the van, balloon in tow, looking for a good site. Our pilot/driver stopped on three occasions before selecting just the right spot, which turned out to be a dirt lot on the outskirts of the now waking town.
We all jumped from the van, and the ground crew immediately began to unload the trailer. First, out came the balloon, which the ground assistants gently unfolded onto a tarp.
The assistants then pulled the woven gondola from the trailer and placed it into position just below the open end of the deflated balloon. Next, the process of sorting ropes began. It ended with the basket secured to the bottom of the balloon by a series of ropes and metal clips.
The crew then held the bottom of the horizontal nylon balloon open while it was inflated by hot air from a gas canister similar to the one you use in your back-yard barbeque, -except much larger.
Within minutes, the big colorful bag was inflated and the basket that had been lying on its side during the inflation process had righted itself. The ground assistants then held down the basket while the pilot boarded the passengers. Hot air balloon baskets come in different sizes, -ours was sufficient to carry six passengers and the pilot.
There appears to be no age minimum or maximum associated with ballooning. It seems that if you are tall enough to see over the rim, and agile enough to enter and exit the basket, you are of an age to enjoy a balloon ride.
Everyone, including the pilot, remains standing during the typical 40-60 minute balloon trip. The pilot's position is alongside the gas canister that infuses sporadic rushes of fiery hot gas into the colorful gentle giant to make it rise. When the forced hot air blasts are cut back, the balloon begins to descend.
Ballooning is all about the ability of the pilot to find the right air currents at different altitudes in order to guide the balloon towards the planned destination. The entire flight usually covers some five or ten miles on the ground.
Our lift off was a thing of beauty. We slowly rose up into the clear, crisp morning sky like a feather rising on a gentle breeze. What a sensation-and what a view, with the Rio Grande River below, and the Sandia Crest and Monzano Mountains just off in the distance.
Meanwhile, back on the ground, two assistants were following the balloon's passage from the van. Our pilot frequently advised the ground crew via a two-way radio of our flight progress and changes to where he planned to put the balloon down. We could see the van moving slowly below us, always guided by directions from the “flight deck” above.
About 45 minutes into our flight, Captain Todd decided where he would land and instructed the ground crew accordingly. Our air ship descended with the same grace with which it had ascended and our touch-down was spot-on perfect. The ground crew and van were waiting in just the right place to grab the basket as we gently bumped down to mother earth.
After the landing, the pilot and his ground crew quickly disembarked the passengers, and deflated the balloon. After which, all the flyers were treated to a glass of sparkling wine to celebrate the success of our flight, followed by a continental breakfast.
There are many ways to experience the joys of being alive. A hot air balloon ride is one that you and your family will remember all the years of your lives.
