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Discover the essential steps to organize a safe and unforgettable flight
Have you ever imagined yourself piloting a hot air balloon? Well, you are in the right place because today I would like to swap perspectives and tell you how a pilot experiences a balloon flight. My name is Massimo Arnò and I am a balloonist with a track record of over 2500 flight hours. So, what do you say, shall we take off?
Before the flight
In this part of the article, we will see how a pilot prepares a balloon ride on the eve of the launch.
Interacting with passengers
First of all, I must admit that I enjoy direct communication with my passengers, as it helps me to understand their expectations, respond to potential questions and curiosity, inform my guests about the course of our actions at the airfield, as well as about dressing and other requirements during the flight.
In short, interaction with passengers helps to plan the exact balloon flight these exact people have always imagined and dreamed about. What does it mean? It means that we at Discover The Sky propose only exclusive balloon flights reserved for small private groups of people or couples because:
- we believe that a truly immersive participation of this kind should be limited to a small group of people who know each other;
- we prefer to propose customised rides where it is the passenger who gives shape to the experience;
- the nature of our flights lets us avoid months of waiting for booking confirmations and get ready for a flight in the shortest possible time;
- the pilot becomes your flying Cicero and dedicates their undivided attention to you without having to answer the questions of 10-20 other passengers.
Planning a balloon experience with us is like decorating the house of your dreams: you have an ideal design in your head and now you can make it real. Will you choose an off-the-shelf low-cost solution that could be found in everyone’s home or something to reflect your true personality, something that would immediately tell your own story? If you are reading this, I can probably guess that you are looking for a different, offbeat and unique solution.
Weather trend
After the flight date has been agreed upon and as early as one week before the launch, I start monitoring the weather trend.
This term is deliberate: a trend is different from a forecast. The latter can be relied upon 36-48 hours in advance at the earliest, anything before that is guesswork. A week prior to the flight it is possible to verify a weather trend (high pressure = good weather, low pressure = poor weather), while the actual cloud coverage, wind and rain conditions can be dependably foreseen only a couple of days beforehand.
In each case I start by getting a general idea of the weather pattern, revising it with ever more detail as the date of the flight draws nearer.
A couple of days before the launch I check the wind forecast to see if the flight is possible or whether the wind could take us to unsafe flying areas, such as large woodlands or the sea.
Balloon check
It goes without saying that I perform a painstaking check of the safety of the entire aircraft, including adequate equipment of the basket with everything necessary and preparation and update of all due documentation.
If the weather is good and the balloon and all the avionics are 100% serviceable, I get in touch with the passengers to confirm the balloon ride and provide them with the last details, such as the time of our meeting and the airfield location.
After that I check everything again twice, recharge the instruments and the radio and load the trailer to be taken to the agreed launch location.
On the day of the flight
And so, the great day arrives! We are at the launch airfield with our passengers, starting to allocate the tasks.
Our ground crew unloads the equipment and prepares the balloon, while the pilot, first of all… blows up a small party balloon! Strange, isn’t it? However, this step is necessary to check with your own eyes that the weather conditions are really suitable for flying. A party balloon released in the air is our final test.
As soon as the basket and the burner have been installed, I control their serviceability and invite the passengers to approach the basket for a pre-flight briefing: an essential step in our preparation! During the briefing I explain what people can and cannot do, how they should behave and what position they should take during landing: the fundamental knowledge for a safe and enjoyable flight.
At the end, we start inflating the hot air balloon and once it is set up and ready to go, it is time to board and make our dreams a magic and extraordinary reality.
Launch
We are all finally in the basket. The pilot performs the last checks. It is usually the moment when the pilot answers the passengers’ questions about how a hot air balloon flies and reassures them about the safety of the burner flame.
Meanwhile the air in the envelope is being warmed up slowly and, almost imperceptibly, we get off the ground. Let me clarify: this has nothing in common with a more conventional airplane takeoff: during a hot air balloon flight there are no engines revving at full power or rather discouraging noises. You just get off the ground.
This sensation reminds of the moment when a ship throws off the lines: and immediately the feeling of freedom and the joy of flying overcomes you and you get electrified by all the emotions and finally the boundless sky opens up before your eyes.
Of course, all this can be experienced to the fullest only during an exclusive balloon ride, without the hustle and bustle of 10-12 strangers traveling with you. In our case, on the contrary, you will enjoy the sensation of nearly absolute silence, a rare treat in our busy everyday life. All those who have already shared a Discover The Sky experience with us admit to have been genuinely stunned by it.
My task as your pilot, however, is to stay alert, despite all the wonderful emotions of the flight, and to remain always ready for any untoward reaction or manifestation of fear, making my passengers’ experience as tranquil and comfortable as possible.
Landing
The first thing to know about balloon landing is that we will never land at the launch location. A hot air balloon cannot turn back, it can only fly according to the direction of the wind until a suitable field is found – safe and sufficiently spacious to let us get our feet back on the ground.
Our flights last at least an hour to let our passengers really savour the journey to the full. While I interact with my guests and guide them on their discovery of the sky, as a pilot, I never lose sight of the land and remain in constant contact with the ground personnel who assist us at the moment of landing.
Once a suitable landing site has been identified, our ground crew catch up with us and we start the basket landing procedure. The balloon lowers down on the ground as slowly as it has gotten off. Now you can consider yourself a true aeronaut!
After that the crew and myself will dismantle the balloon, load everything on our trailer and we will go back all together.
After your balloon flight you will be treated to a delicious breakfast at a nice place, so that you could regain your energy, calm the adrenalin rush and exchange the emotions from the flight.
At the end of the experience, you will receive a certificate of flight baptism and a little surprise gift.
Now you know how a pilot plans a hot air balloon ride, even if every experience has its differences and nuances. So, the only thing left is to come and see hot air balloon operation at close quarters. Book your flight and ask for a free no-obligation quote.
