[billnotgatez]

Hot Air Ballooning

The sequence for inflating a hot air balloon is as follows

You lay out the balloon and basket on the ground.

The basket is up wind and the balloon envelope is down wind.

By the way, the envelope is made of a fabric much like rip stop nylon and most baskets are made with wicker.

The basket is tied off to something relatively solid like a tree or a heavy vehicle. That tie off point is upwind of the basket.

The top of the balloon, which is farthest down wind, contains a separate piece that allows for air to escape out the top. That piece is sometimes called a parachute top. In any case that top is seated properly so air will not escape with fasteners usually made of Velcro or springs. This prevents air from escaping during inflation. During flight the parachute is opened slightly to let hot air out for descending. It pops back into place due to design when the pull cord in the basket is released.

Now that the parachute is seated and the basket tied off, cold air is blown into the mouth of the balloon to initially inflate the envelope. Fully inflated with cold air the balloon system lays on its side.

If everything looks correctly set up, the burners over the top of the basket are lit and activated to put copious amounts of hot air into the envelope. If the balloon has been cold inflated properly the flames will not touch the envelope. To slow down the righting of the balloon system there is a crown line off the top which is held back by a crewmember.

Once the air inside of the envelope is hot enough the envelope will rise and the balloon system will stand up. Since the pilot is inside the basket it will not take off due to weight. The tie off will also prevent the balloon from moving.

Passengers, cargo, etc are loaded in the basket.

The tie off is released from the balloon system.

The pilot heats up the air inside the balloon and the aircraft rises.

When the pilot want to climb he applies more heat to the air inside the envelope. When the pilot wants to descend he allows the balloon to cool or allows some hot air to escape by pulling and releasing the parachute control line.

Since the balloon is at the whim of air currents a chase crew follows the balloon for recovery at the end of the flight.

After the final landing the balloon is allowed to cool.

Passengers, cargo, etc are offloaded.

The burners are turned off.

The pilot pulls the parachute way open, which allows air to escape, and a crewmember pulls on the crown line downwind to put the balloon on its side.

The rest of the air inside the balloon is squeezed out and the balloon system is packed up and loaded on the chase vehicle.

The chase vehicle(s) return balloon system, crew, pilot, passengers cargo etc to the starting point.