The Weather Notebook: Hot Air Balloon

Hot Air Balloon
Listen in RealAudio
Email your weather question

Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton and this is The Weather Notebook.

Sometimes, being filled with hot air is not a bad thing. Correspondent Jessica Lockart explains.

It's a perfect day for ballooning because there are light winds and clear visibility. It's 5:45 AM and 38 balloonists head for the fields. Pilot Robert Zirpolo describes the first job of the morning, inflating the envelope.

"air is blown into the balloon what they call cold inflated, and once it looks like a large beach ball laying on the ground then you fire the burners up and because hot air rises the balloon slowly stands up, slowly give it more heat until the lift of the heat is greater than the weight of the balloon, it's called bouyancy. Once you get to the point of equalibrium you can give it some more heat and you'll leave the ground."

But wait, something's missing!

"OK, where's the passengers"?

That's pilot BIll Colyer:

"When you're up in the balloon people think we're going to be spinning and rocking and rolling, but you're with the wind, very peaceful."

As they fly, pilots change altitude to change wind direction and speed. The wind determines the direction of the flight so each balloon trip is an adventure.

Thanks today to Jessica Lockart of Portland, Maine. The Weather Notebook is production of the Mount Washington Observatory and supported by Subaru. For about winds and air temperatures, visit our website at mountwashington.org.