Balloon

k0ua · May 22, 2012

chad22 said:
Very Cool. I've always wanted to ride in one of those. Maybe one day I will get too.

Chad

I rode in one once, in a balloon race, it was fun and educational. We ran out of shaving cream (to find the wind currents) and had to resort to spitting over the side and watching it..You observe the "foam" and find the currents that are going in the direction you want to go and adjust you altitude to put your balloon in that current. It was quiet of course until you hit the gas. I threw the marker at the X on the ground, and missed it by a mile, We didn't win but we still had fun:thumbsup:

James K0UA

Kyle_in_Tex · May 22, 2012

k0ua said:
I rode in one once, in a balloon race, it was fun and educational. We ran out of shaving cream (to find the wind currents) and had to resort to spitting over the side and watching it..You observe the "foam" and find the currents that are going in the direction you want to go and adjust you altitude to put your balloon in that current. It was quiet of course until you hit the gas. I threw the marker at the X on the ground, and missed it by a mile, We didn't win but we still had fun:thumbsup:

James K0UA

I got to do the same thing in Bryan Texas about 20 years ago. Our pilot watched the other balloons to get a feel for the wind. He missed the X by only 10 inches. It was awesome.

Ridgewalker · May 23, 2012

RobertBrown said:
From this angle, it does look scary close to that cable, at least for something you can't steer and has no brakes.

The were moving away from the power lines and had dropped down after they passed over them. They got close enough that I was able to say good morning in a normal voice and they responded in kind.