I'm more intrigued by the noise abatement procedures which apply to balloons.
Here in Germany where powered aircraft are not allowed to descend below 500ft (apart from take-off and landing of course) balloons are really the noisiest things in the sky most people will encounter. I live in an area that seems to be very popular with hot air balloons on sightseeing trips and I can confirm, that a balloonist opening his burner 100ft above one's head (they always do, because there's a hill behind the place where we live) makes a lot more noise than a Cessna 172 passing at 500ft! Not that it it matters to me, but I can understand the rulemakers concern.