Ripline
I completely understand why you were so pleased now. A balloon has a substantially better glide ratio than a lump of 30 year old metal
I do still think we must all continue to respect the public's right to privacy and peace and quiet, though. The public have a strange perception of height of aircraft (and balloons).
Andy
I would expect the extra 500ft to halve the potential glide, once you take the non variables out from both events.
Homegaurd
This has been the case for longer than I have been flying. The ruling was also changed about 18 months ago to allow permit aircraft to over fly congested areas, if taking off or landing at a licensed or gov strip. They aren't allowed to over fly under normal flight conditions.