bet you can't fly back!

[rans6andrew]

The BBC and Kentonline are both reporting an attempt to break the record for balloons crossing the channel being made this morning. The old record was 49 in a day set in 2011, today more than that are making the attempt, 85 according to the BBC and 100 according to Kentonline. I hope they all made it without getting wet.

Hot air balloons cross Channel to France for Guinness World Record attempt

Hot air balloons attempt cross-channel record - BBC News

Rans6........

[Ripline]

We did indeed, thank you!

The BBC Points West video made the point that these flights are very special and that it is a strange position for balloon crew to be in, out of sight of land in all directions with shipping below as the only reference points apart from instruments. At least we have moving maps to reassure ourselves that we are heading towards safety.

One of our Belgian colleagues made this video, if you're interested.

https://www.facebook.com/benniebos/v...3196963361097/

He captured our landing near Wissern at 4:30 in.

Regards

Geoff

[TowerDog]

Wow, nice video, thanks.

A few questions: Do you guys wear parachutes?
Do balloons run into each other? (Mid air collision)
How high up before all noise from the ground is gone?
Why don't the balloons catch fire from the open flames?
(Silk, nylon?)

[funfly]

Brilliant video, I also would be interested in TowerDog's questions.

[Ripline]

Steady on, chaps, this is the slippery slope to a Ballooning Forum........

Parachutes are not normally worn unless something dangerous is being attempted. Ian Ashpole in earlier years was fond of crossing between two balloons connected by a rigid bar, but that was the exception. Barring a catastrophic envelope failure, you are already under the biggest parachute system so individual ones are superfluous. Even if complete dual redundancy burner systems fail, the stabilised max rate of descent is unlikely to exceed 1000' per minute, which is survivable in a woven basket with a cushion floor (for a given value of survivable).

Balloons do occasionally collide, but it's a gentle event as they are usually moving in the same air mass. It is dangerous to put a basket into another balloon's envelope and extremely dangerous to get it tangled into the top parachute vent system. The lower balloon always has right of way - it's up to the higher balloon to keep clear. If they must touch, you aim to do it equator to equator - it's a non-event really.

Sound carries a huge distance from the ground and on a frosty day you can have a conversation from several fields away. I guess it's all background fuzz above 8,000' but I've never done any experiments. You can certainly hear the French TGVs from 3,000'.

Hot air balloons are either made from ripstop nylon or polyester fabric: silk is not an option!

Modern ripstop nylon melts easily and most of us have burnt panels usually on inflation under gusty conditions. For this reason most envelopes have the first horizontal panels made from Nomex, which isn't flameproof but is resistant enough for normal use. The burners are designed to form an intense tubular flame pattern which means that for most purposes it gets lost in the volume of the envelope as it moves away from the mouth. A fluid dynamicist would explain that a fast-moving flame drags along an outer sheath of cooler air that insulates the worst effects of the radiant heat from the fabric.

A fusible heat-link high in the crown will melt and cause a streamer to fall into the basket if the crown temperature exceeds 130C or so. There is always a tempilabel tell-tale nearby which will confirm that overtemperature has occured. Anything in excess of 121C requires an overtemperature inspection and sign-off - a few degrees more if polyester fabric is used.

Apart from having a trip with a friendly local pilot, if you get the chance to look inside the inflated envelope of a hot air balloon, you'll be amazed at the beauty of the structure - the craftsmanship is amazing. The special shapes are true aeronautical fabric architecture made flesh and are hugely complex internally to achieve the outward appearance.

Hope this helps/informs.

Ripline

[Martin_123]

if I could just seize the opportunity and ask something I always wanted to know - maneuverability in balloons - how do you steer one and by how much can you actually change the heading? I understand it generally goes where the wind takes you, but surely if you can make it to an airfield across the Chanel you must have some degree of steering available?

[PPRuNe Towers]

Great to have a ballooning thread here,

Long ago we started a forum after a request and also similar one from Ag pilots. Sadly they never never reached critical mass and we changed the name to Biz Jets and GA.

Rob

[tmmorris]

Originally Posted by Martin_123

if I could just seize the opportunity and ask something I always wanted to know - maneuverability in balloons - how do you steer one and by how much can you actually change the heading? I understand it generally goes where the wind takes you, but surely if you can make it to an airfield across the Chanel you must have some degree of steering available?

I've always assumed, using the wind gradient?

[B Fraser]

Sound carries a huge distance from the ground

Indeed it does. I had a few years of fun in balloons and once drifted across a field of long grass. Right in the middle were a couple who thought they were completely hidden from sight. They were engaged in what is best described as and act of lovemaking. When we were directly overhead, I bellowed out "What do you think you are doing !". The resulting panic was a sight to behold as they ran like the clappers while trying to put on their clothes.

[RatherBeFlying]

While it is unmannerly to interrupt intimacies, one may applaud afterwards.

[VictorGolf]

Did the flight make it in to the Guiness Book of Records? I read in the "I" newspaper that there was a lack of the proper paperwork to claim the record. Great effort though.

[Ripline]

Originally Posted by Martin_123

if I could just seize the opportunity and ask something I always wanted to know - maneuverability in balloons - how do you steer one and by how much can you actually change the heading? I understand it generally goes where the wind takes you, but surely if you can make it to an airfield across the Chanel you must have some degree of steering available?

Martin_123 - seize away! As mentioned above by tmmorris wind gradient is the key. Generally speaking the higher you climb the more the gradient wind speeds up and turns to the right, at least it does in the northern hemisphere, although it isn't always there and can slow down if there's an inversion. One of the fun things is to play these phenomena to achieve your target destination, either for fun or as part of competition. I doubt if there is another air sport that fosters an intense pilot interest in exactly what the layers are doing at a given time. In the Channel it was a pretty constant and our best rate was found at 2100' amsl + or - a couple of hundred feet, but that could have changed with time as the sea breeze kicked in near the coast.

I must correct one misapprehension in your question, however. Flying between airfields is not generally part of our flight planning - that is one of the significant freedoms of the sport. We just need the landowner's permission to use a takeoff field (on the x-channel it was Lydenn Racing Circuit) and again at our landing point, although that permission is a little hard to deny after the event....).

Ripline

[Ripline]

Originally Posted by PPRuNe Towers

Great to have a ballooning thread here,

Long ago we started a forum after a request and also similar one from Ag pilots. Sadly they never never reached critical mass and we changed the name to Biz Jets and GA.

Rob

Thank-you, Rob! The problem is that hot air ballooning (and gas ballooning) is, and is perceived as, a minority sport, with a generally ageing pilot/crew base: I doubt if there are more than 1000 active PPL(B) pilots in the UK. It's strange because I get asked a lot about ballooning, but it is rarely followed up by positive engagement by the enquirer. I get most of my kicks from helping run balloon clubs and offering inspection/ARC services for less than peanuts in an effort to keep things going. This event had a lot of continental input from young crews: we no longer see that level of engagement in this country.

Ripline

[Capn Bug Smasher]

Hello Ripline,

What is the best way to get started?

I am not in a position to train for a PPL(B) right now, but I would like to know anyway.

Thank you

The Air League used to offer a PPL(B) scholarship which to my eternal regret I never applied for (I did not want to appear greedy when applying for their other awards.)

[tobster911]

What is the best way to get started?

Have a look here:
Learning to Fly | British Balloon and Airship Club (BBAC)

[rans6andrew]

I managed to get a balloon ride about 30 years ago. The ride was very pleasant and I'm glad I got the chance. Looking back it seemed to be so weather dependent and then recovery crew availability dependent that I was surprised that anyone finds it worth the effort. After some weeks of waiting I was called at some unearthly dark hour in the morning and given 15 minutes to be ready to leave. We arrived at the launch site before the dawn chorus had got going to find that there was almost no wind (good for inflating but bad for flying) and fog (just bad). After a leisurely breakfast at a 24 hour cafe we were back at the launch site and found the fog beginning to lift. People were starting to unpack and inflate their balloons which, when they rose to a standing position, were touching the bottom of the fog/low cloud. Eventually the fog lifted enough to launch, just, and a few balloons lifted off. A little breeze enabled them to leave the launch field and the cloudbase allowed them to climb high enough to get over the trees and across the next field. When we took off we flew for about an hour but never rose higher than treetop height due to the still low cloudbase. When we landed it took the recovery team about half an hour to find us and gain access to the landing site, this was despite only having flown a few miles. By the time we had packed it away and cleared the landing site we were lucky to arrive at a pub for lunch before the last orders for food. Getting an hour flying had consumed the best part of a day and we still weren't home.

I can see the appeal but the effort and impracticality......... It is not a mode of transport.

[Ripline]

Originally Posted by tobster911

Have a look here:
Learning to Fly | British Balloon and Airship Club (BBAC)

Essentially, what he said........

rans6andrew wrote:

I can see the appeal but the effort and impracticality......... It is not a mode of transport.

I don't think that any recreational balloon pilot would ever claim that it was.

Doesn't mean that it's not worth doing, though. One of my best flights was with 4 passengers in Zagorije, Croatia. Takeoff was through ground fog and travelled a massive 1 km before landing. But the passengers, who brought us a lovely meal afterwards, said that the experience of seeing the trees and hills poking up out of the mist and then seeing the sunrise burst through and light everything up, together with the clearance and observation of deer, hares and egrets was one of the most amazing things to behold.

Ripline

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi guys,

first of all, please excuse the capitals; i have broken my wrist, have my arm in plaster, and so have to type one fingered!

Ripline, i note that your sport's organising body is called the british balloon & airship club. Are there any airships flown for sport? I've seen many sport balloons over the years, but never a sport airship. What is the position regarding airships operated for sport? Or is it like seaplane flying; widely practised abroad but almost impossible in the uk.

Regards,

bp.

[TowerDog]

Thx for good answers to my questions.
One or two more:

How much does a balloon cost?
Are they all custom made, or is there standard off the shelf balloons available?
Do you feel turbulence?
What happens if you get sucked up into a CB?
Thx

[RomeoTangoFoxtrotMike]

Originally Posted by TowerDog

Thx for good answers to my questions.
One or two more:

How much does a balloon cost?

About the same as a car.

Originally Posted by TowerDog

Are they all custom made, or is there standard off the shelf balloons available?

Manufacturers will sometimes have one or two in stock for various reasons, but a new one will usually be made-to-order from a standard range of types, much like choosing a new car. There is also a thriving second-had market.

Originally Posted by TowerDog

Do you feel turbulence?
What happens if you get sucked up into a CB?
Thx

You avoid flying in turbulent (i.e. thermic) conditions in general and avoid CBs like the plague - balloons and CBs don't mix! The main reason why ballooning is so weather-sensitive.

HTH