Hot air balloons

[abgd]

Does anybody else have an almost irresistible urge to fly around them in circles like a demented bluebottle round a lampshade? I've hitherto resisted.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Oh yes! And on several occasions I didn't resist the temptation (but not too close, of course), and just one orbit.

[thing]

Dropped flaps and did a slow cct round one over Chatsworth last year. Lots of waving etc.

Although they may have been waving 'P*** off away from us.'

[Cusco]

And of course the 500ft rule applies......

[thing]

What, you have to break away at 500' when you're pretending to strafe Hun observation balloons?

[mad_jock]

500ft rule doesn't apply.

[Piper.Classique]

Feel free to do demented bluebottle around my elegant yellow and black ladies' aerial carriage. Just remember who flew first.

[Legalapproach]

Cusco, I agree with Mad Jock

[Piper.Classique]

They are both in the air so what has the 500 foot rule got to do with it? Mind you, I seem to remember something about formation flying being agreed beforehand......

[mad_jock]

your not formatting either.

The only thing you can be accused of is endangerment. Which is an open ended accusation. And if the pilot of the aircraft said there wasn't any danger and the pilot of the balloon says there was no endangerment it would be a brave legal type to take it to court.

[B Fraser]

When I was flying balloons, I used to enjoy being buzzed by light aircraft. A chap in a Pitts once did a flypast with an 8 point hesitation roll, absolutely fantastic.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Actually flying circles around a hot air balloon on a day when the wind is say fifteen knots and maintaining a constant distance from the balloon and then having the student fly a circle maintaining a constant distance from an object on the ground is an excellent lesson.

[thing]

Actually flying circles around a hot air balloon on a day when the wind is say fifteen knots

But the balloon is travelling in the same block of air as the aircraft...

[Heston]

I think that was the point that Chuck was making - fly round balloon, then fly round a point on the ground and notice the difference...

[this is my username]

Balloon pilots don't have quite the same obsession with "lookout" as their heavier-than-air counterparts do - after all we have right of way and if something is coming towards you there isn't much you can do. I was once flying a passenger ride and was "head down" sorting something out when I heard a hell of a noise - looked up to see two Spitfires (or it could have been a Spit and a Hurricane) going past, one each side of the basket. Noise explained, I went back to what I was doing. After I landed the ground crew asked me if I had seen the Lancaster which went underneath .....

Back in the early days of flex-wing microlights with limited performance it was always quite amusing to pop in to a climb as they buzzed up and watch them howling away at full power never quite managing to catch up!

[thing]

I think that was the point that Chuck was making - fly round balloon, then fly round a point on the ground and notice the difference...

Got it now Bit early in the morning for me...

[Genghis the Engineer]

Back in the early days of flex-wing microlights with limited performance it was always quite amusing to pop in to a climb as they buzzed up and watch them howling away at full power never quite managing to catch up!

So that was you !

G

[abgd]

I suppose my other confession would be that the first time I saw a balloon near my flight path I started to get interested in it, then realised that I had altered my course slightly and was now heading straight for it! I was far enough away that it was nowhere near a 'near miss' but I could see how you could be drawn into a collision - same principle as cars in Holland where on long straight stretches of road people are apparently drawn to having head-on collisions.

[Rocket2]

Remember the weekend that a JP instructor from Sleaford Tech decided to pull a few turns around a balloon in a motor-glider, making the mistake of giving some Churchillian signs in the process. Cue Monday morning interview (no hats or coffee) with the Commandant who happened to be in said balloon with Mrs Commandant :ugh::O

[Heebicka]

exactly, can't resist at all, it is always like "wow a baloon, I need to have closer look right now"


and yes "Although they may have been waving 'P*** off away from us.' "
this makes my day :)

[Blink182]

A real No-No is to fly right over the top of them:=

[thing]

Or into them.

[John R81]

Or to 'help them along a little' with the down-wash from your helicopter :=

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

I once heard one on the radio in the Manchester LLR:

Man App: "Golf alpha bravo not above 1250 feet Manchester QNH 1015 whilst in the LLR please".

Golf alpha bravo: "Wilco. Altitude is all I can control in this".

[abgd]

What happens if you fly over them? Really bad thermals? Inadvertent acoustic weapon based on focused sound waves? Or something more mundane?

[B Fraser]

The wake vortex or vortices can give the envelope quite a shaking. The crown of the balloon is sealed with a parachute valve that can become dislodge and allow the hottest air to vent leading to an unscheduled descent. Re-seating the parachute is no big deal and a bit of burning restores the lift however it's poor airmanship all round.

If you know any balloonists then trading an hour for an hour is always very welcome. Navigating at 10kts using OS maps is a rather different experience and skimming the top of the barley can be terrific fun too :ok:

[thing]

Did an hour in a balloon once. Good fun, didn't go above 30' and that was to pop over power cables etc. Did the barley field skimming. Bit like aerial canal boating I thought.

[abgd]

How far away do you need to keep from balloons to avoid the vortices disturbing them? Incidentally I'd have thought that flying besides the balloons (and perhaps slightly higher) would be a greater risk?

[Armchairflyer]

What, you have to break away at 500' when you're pretending to strafe Hun observation balloons?Made my day :). May I recommend Try Rise of Flight! (http://riseofflight.com/tryrof/en) ?

[IFMU]

When I was a kid I did a few laps around a balloon while flying a PA12. That calibrated my brain on what zero airspeed looked like aloft. Upon landing I was offered a ride in an RV4. The pilot saw the PA12 out flying, and did a few laps around it. The two speed differentials matched, and from the back seat of the RV4 it gave a strong illusion that the PA12 was floating along at zero airspeed.
Bryan

[Heebicka]

Yesterday evening, (yes I took it between and descend a bit :)
http://umsle.peklo.biz/img/1408527409.jpg