Travelling
in a hot air balloon is a remarkably serene, peaceful and enjoyable
experience; you don't feel any breeze since the balloon moves with the
wind. Without the rushing winds normally associated with high altitudes,
the experience of flying in a hot air balloon seems very safe and calming
- you simply lift off the ground and move with the air in the atmosphere.
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If you
actually need to get somewhere, a hot air balloon is a fairly impractical
vehicle. You can't really steer it, and it only travels as fast as the
wind blows. But if you simply want to enjoy the experience of flying.....
There's nothing quite like it!
Hot Air Ballooning takes place on a daily basis weather
permitting, if it is snowing, raining, too cloudy or if the wind is
blowing in the wrong direction the hot air ballooning activity will not
operate. Unlike Britain
and other parts of the world where there are two flights; morning and
early evening hot air ballooning in the mountains can ONLY operate in the
morning due to the takeoff altitude and flying conditions. Arriving at
the takeoff site at about 0830hrs you will be taking off for your
mountain ballooning experience at around 0900hrs (lift opening time) the
flight will take anything from 1-2 hours.
Hot Air
Ballooning is not a Meribel activity, the Hot
Air Ballooning activity departs from the Altiport
in Courchevel 1850. Due to the early start
involved, to take part in Hot Air Ballooning it will be necessary to get
transport from Meribel in order to get to the
takeoff site as the lift system does not officially open till 0900hrs.
With the lift system not open you will NOT be able to ski to the Hot Air
Ballooning takeoff site in time. From Meribel
centre it will take about 40-45 minutes to drive to the takeoff site at CourchevelAltiport, Courchevel 1850.
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how to get there FROM MERIBEL
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WHITETRACKS HOST
Collected
from your chalet you will be transported straight to CourchevelAltiport. The Whitetracks host will drive you
to the Pilotus restaurant and park in the
restaurant car park right next to the Altiport
runway. From the car park the Host will walk you through the restaurant,
down the stairs and out the electric doors to where, at this moment in
time the balloon should have been started to be unpacked. The Host will
then take you and introduce you to the Hot Air Ballooning pilot answering
any final questions or queries that you might have and to make sure that
are being looked after properly. The Host will then stay at the takeoff
site taking pictures of you as you help inflate the balloon and then
taking further pictures of the all important takeoff. Once out of range
the Host will then do their best to follow you in the Whitetracks vehicle
taking more pictures of your Hot Air Balloon flight as it is navigated
around the mountains. The Whitetracks host will then endeavour to be at
the landing to take more photos as you land but also to lend a hand and
help with the deflation the balloon. Once the balloon has been deflated
and packed away the Host will escort you back to your chalet, hotel or
apartment in Meribel. Whitetracks
Host
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Hot Air Ballooning – operation /
DURATION / format
If you
are driving yourself or catching a taxi to CourchevelAltiport, you should arrive to meet the pilot
at least 5-10 minutes before the requested time. The pilot might keep you
waiting but PLEASE do not keep them waiting.
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Launching
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When you
get to the takeoff site you will be asked to help with the inflating of
the balloon, much of the work comes at the beginning and the end of the
flight, with the inflating and deflating of the balloon. The crew will
firstly unroll the balloon on the ground laying it out flat for easy
inflation; they will then attach the burner system to the basket. The balloon envelop will then be attached, once the
envelope is laid out using a powerful fan at its base the inflating will
begin. When there is enough air in the balloon, the pilot will blast the
burner flame into the envelope mouth. This will heat the air, building
pressure until the balloon inflates all the way and starts to lift off
the ground.
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The
ground crew members will then hold the basket down until the pilot and
the passengers are on board. The balloon basket is attached to the ground
crew vehicle until the last minute, so the balloon won't be blown away
before it is ready to launch. When everything is set, the ground crew
will release the balloon and the pilot will fire a steady flame from the
burner. As the air heats up, the balloon lifts of the ground. This entire
process will take about 15-20 minutes.
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When
in the air even the most experienced pilots do not have complete control
over the balloons path. Usually, wind conditions give pilots very few
options. Consequently, you can't really pilot a hot air balloon along an
exact course; it is very rare that a pilot would be able to fly the
balloon back to the starting point. Piloting a hot air balloon is largely
improvised for this reason hot air balloons have a ground crew that will
follow the balloon by car to see where it lands. When the Hot Air Balloon
lands the ground crew should be there to help with the landing, the
collection of passengers and importantly the equipment (If they are not
there for the actual landing they won’t be far behind).
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Occasionally,
when there is no wind in the mountains the Hot Air Balloon will only
cover a very short distance mainly just travelling up and down in one
spot before landing. The duration of the flight is also quite
unpredictable with flights ranging from 1-2 hours, as soon as the balloon
is in the air; the pilot is constantly looking for suitable landing
sites, in case there is an emergency. What makes it difficult in the
mountains is that there are very few places large enough for a Hot Air
Balloon to land if the pilot can not find a suitable area to land the
flight will variably be longer than normal until a suitable place can be
found.
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Landing
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The
landing process combined with deflating and re-packing the balloon
envelope, takes a while longer than the inflation process. When the pilot
is ready to land, the pilot will discuss the landing site with the ground
crew (via an onboard radio) importantly telling them where it is. In the
mountains where everything is on a slope or built up with chalets the
pilot will need to find a large enough space without power lines and Lift
cables with enough room to lay out the balloon.
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The
balloon landing can be a little rough, but the pilot will bump along the
ground to stop the balloon gradually, minimising the impact. If the
crew has made it to the landing site, they will hold the basket down once
it has landed. If the balloon isn't in a good position, the crew will try
and pull it along the ground to a better spot.
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If
possible the ground crew will set out a ground tarp, to protect the
balloon from wear and tear. The pilot will then open the parachute valve,
so the air can escape out of the top of the balloon. The ground crew will
grab the cord attached to the top of the balloon, and will pull the
balloon over onto the tarp. Once the balloon envelope is down on the
ground, the crew will push the air out. When the balloon is flattened,
the crew will then pack it into a stuff sack.
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Once the
Hot Air Balloon has been packed away and the basket is back on the
trailer, the Pilot (depending on the Hot Air Ballooning company
Whitetracks has booked you with) will crack open the Champagne. Once you have drunk the Champagne or if they don’t supply Champagne as soon as everything is
packed away the ground crew and pilot will transport you and the other
passengers back to CourchevelAltiport 1850.
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If you
have Hired a Whitetracks Host you will not need to travel back to CourchevelAltiport the
Host will pick you up and transfer you straight from the landing site to
your chalet, hotel or apartment in Meribel,
Whitetracks Host
To take part in Hot Air Ballooning there is a minimum age of
12 years old, this age is really just a guideline as generally at the age
of 12 you will be a height at which you will be able to see over the edge
of the basket. If you can not see over the edge of the basket you can not
take part in the Hot Air Ballooning activity.
possible for up to 30 people in 7
individual hot air balloons
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Unlike some Hot Air Balloons in Britain and other parts of
the world where they can carry up to 20 people at a time the high
altitudes of the balloon mountain flying govern the sizes of the balloons
that can be used. For safety reasons the Hot Air Balloons must remain
small as larger balloons have a higher flying level.
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Hot Air Ballooning can cater for numbers as small as two and
a maximum of five in a single balloon. For larger groups Hot Air
Ballooning is capable of catering up to thirty people in seven different
Hot Air Balloons but it means that Whitetracks would have to bring in
pilots and balloons from the surrounding areas. For larger groups wanting
to take part in the Hot Air Ballooning activity it is necessary to book
in advance to ensure availability. Up to 30 people in 7 Hot Air Balloons
- Advance Booking Essential.
Ski Clothing - Jacket, ski pants,
hat gloves and sun glasses
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Hot Air Ballooning is an early morning daytime activity, when
you arrive at CourchevelAltiport
the sun is unlikely to have risen meaning you will be helping to inflate
the balloon in the shade. PLEASE dress warm as it will be extremely cold
and will only start to warm up as the sun comes up over the mountains.
Once in the balloon and in the air you will be travelling with the wind
meaning there will not be any wind chill factor the only cold you will
feel will be the actual temperature of the air. Wear ski clothing -
jacket, ski pants, hat gloves and take sun glasses because without the
wind chill it will still be cold. Whilst standing in the balloon looking
over the edge of the basket there will be a contrast of temperatures with
your face and front being cold and your back
getting warm / hot every time the burners are ignited.
Before
the flight the pilot will call a weather service to find out about
climate and wind conditions in the area. Pilots only fly when the weather
is close to ideal - when skies are clear and wind conditions are normal.
Storms are extremely hazardous for hot air balloons because of the danger
of a lightening strike. Even rain and snow is a problem because it
decreases visibility and damages the balloon material and while you need
a nice wind current to have a good flight, very strong winds could easily
wreck the balloon.
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Pilots
also call the weather service to get a rough idea of which way the
balloon will travel, and how they should manoeuvre once they're in the
air. In the air, the pilot will use an onboard altimeter, variometer and their own observations to find the
right altitude. Reaching the right altitude is pretty tricky because
there is at least a 30-second delay between blasting the burners and the
balloon actually lifting. Balloon pilots have to operate the appropriate
controls just a little before they want to rise and shut them off a
little before they want to stop rising.
Hot air balloons are based on a very basic scientific
principle: warmer air rises in cooler air. Essentially, hot air is
lighter than cooler air, because it has less mass per unit of volume. A
cubic foot of air weighs roughly 28grams. If you heat that air by 100
degrees F, it weighs about 7 grams less. Therefore, each cubic foot of
air contained in a hot air balloon can lift about 7 grams. That's not
much, but this is why the balloons are so large - To lift 1,000 pounds,
you need about 65,000 cubic feet of hot air.
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To keep the balloon rising, you need a way to reheat the air.
Hot air balloons do this with a burner positioned under an open balloon
envelope. As the air in the balloon cools, the pilot can reheat it by
firing the burner. Modern hot air balloons heat the air by burning
propane which is stored in compressed liquid form in lightweight
cylinders positioned in the balloon basket. The intake hose runs down to
the bottom of the cylinder, so it can draw the liquid out.
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Because
the propane is highly compressed in the cylinders, it flows quickly
through the hoses to the heating coil. The heating coil is simply a
length of steel tubing arranged in a coil around the burner. When the
balloonist starts up the burner, the propane flows out in liquid form and
is ignited by a pilot light. As the flame burns, it heats up the metal in
the surrounding tubing. When the tubing becomes hot, it heats the propane
flowing through it. This changes the propane from a liquid to a gas,
before it is ignited. This gas makes for a more powerful flame and more
efficient fuel consumption.
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In
most modern balloons, the envelope is constructed from long nylon gores,
reinforced with sewn-in webbing. the gores,
which extend from the base of the envelope to the crown, comprise of a
number of smaller panels. Nylon works very well in balloons because it is
lightweight, but it is also fairly sturdy and has a high melting
temperature. The skirt, the nylon at the base of the envelope, is coated
with special fire-resistant material, to keep the flame from igniting the
balloon.
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The hot air won't escape from the hole at the bottom of the
envelope because buoyancy keeps it moving up. If the pilot continually
fires the fuel jets, the balloon will continue to rise. There is an upper
altitude limit; however, since eventually the air becomes so thin that
the buoyant force is too weak to lift the balloon. The buoyant force is
equal to the weight of air displaced by the balloon, so a larger balloon
envelope will generally have a higher upper altitude limit than a smaller
balloon.
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Most hot air balloons use a wicker basket for the passenger
compartment. Wicker works very well because it is sturdy, flexible and
relatively lightweight. The flexibility helps with balloon landings: In a
basket made of more rigid material, passengers would feel the brunt of
the impact force. Wicker material flexes a little, absorbing some of the
energy.
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PILOTING
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Piloting a balloon takes skill, but the controls are actually
very simple. To lift the balloon, the pilot moves a control that opens up
the propane valve. As it is turned on the flow of gas increases, so the
flame grows in size. The pilot can increase the vertical speed by
blasting a larger flame to heat the air more rapidly. Additionally, many
hot air balloons have a control that opens a second propane valve. This
valve sends propane through a hose that bypasses the heating coils. This
lets the pilot burn liquid propane, instead of propane in gas form this
produces a less efficient, weaker flame, but is much quieter than burning
gas.
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Hot
air balloons also have a cord to open the parachute valve at the top of
the envelope. When the pilot pulls the attached cord, some hot air can
escape from the envelope, decreasing the inner air temperature. This
causes the balloon to slow its ascent. If the pilot keeps the valve open
long enough, the balloon will sink.
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Essentially, These are the only controls - pilots can
manoeuvre horizontally by changing their vertical position, because wind
blows in different directions at different altitudes. To move in a
particular direction, a pilot ascends and descends to the appropriate
level, and rides with the wind. Since wind speed generally increases as
you get higher in the atmosphere, pilots can also control horizontal
speed by changing altitude.
