 | |
Once the balloon is inflated and all of the checklists have been completed,
the pilot burns some more to make the balloon lighter than air, and it lifts
off.
 |
Santo Galatioto waves to the
crew as he, Robert and Mike head off. This takeoff was from New
Hartford CT in December, 1999. Robert is flying today and with Santo
(another commercially-rated pilot) and Mike (Robert's usual crew chief)
flying as passengers. They will fly today to the unusually (for
balloons) high altitude of 12,000', encountering temperatures almost
as low as 0F (-18C). Most balloon flights are at altitudes from a
few hundred to a couple of thousand feet, at most. |
On this particular day, the surface winds are gentle and allow us the
opportunity of a picture from directly below, before the balloon drifts away.
 |
The view from directly below
the balloon. Here you can see the bulbous gores that make up
the structure of the envelope. This balloon, a 105,000 cubic foot
Firefly 8, has 24 gores. Balloons typically have from 8 gores (very
bulbous) on up to envelopes that are effectively smooth. |
The pilot adjusts the altitude and rate of ascent or descent of the balloon
by changing the timing of blasts from the burner, but each blast is typically of
the same duration. The instruments on board (an altimeter to
indicate altitude, a variometer, to indicate rate of ascent or descent
and a pyrometer to indicate the temperature of the air inside the
balloon) help, but flying a balloon is primarily an acquired skill that is very
visual in nature. The pilot can not directly affect the direction of
flight. However, by climbing or descending, he may be able to find winds
of varying directions to achieve a modest degree of steering.
Next: Landing and Pack-up |
