Everyone loves hot air balloons. They are bright, beautiful, and huge. Many people travel to local balloon festivals to see the sky filled with them. Few people realize how much work and maintenance it takes to be a balloonist. Since balloons travel in the direction of the wind, it isn’t always easy to predict where they will land. To retrieve a balloon, the chase crew must follow it as it floats across the sky. This might mean they drive for several miles until the hot air balloon finally comes to a rest.
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A balloon team has an incredible amount of dedication. The weight of an empty hot air balloon is around 1,100 pounds. That includes the bladder (balloon), four full fuel tanks with 60 to 80 gallons of fuel, and the basket. You might think hot air doesn’t weigh much, but an inflated balloon weighs around three tons (around 12,000 pounds)! There are several different sizes of hot air balloons. The smallest are the personal models, which carry two to four people. Larger, tourist-style balloons may carry up to 34 passengers.
Hot Air Balloon Chase Teams
Chase crew members are the multi-purpose members of a balloon team. Their job starts when the balloon is getting set up. They assist where necessary to get the equipment out, fill the balloon, and launch it. They may help with laying out the bladder or setting up the basket. Once the balloon is in the air, the adventure begins.
The chase crew chases the balloon as it flies. While vehicles must follow roads, the balloons travel over fields, forests, rivers, and residential areas. The chase team has to navigate the available routes to keep up with the balloon’s speed. Depending on where they are flying, the chase crew may have a straight-forward route or be zigzagging through city streets.
Once the team determines where the balloon will land, they may need to talk with landowners to get permission to land. Once the balloon lands, they go to work packing it up and returning all the bits and pieces to the trailer or truck. When they finish, the crew must leave no trace. They try to leave the property exactly the way it was before the landing.
Hot air ballooning is not for the faint of heart. It is a lot of work for a relatively short flight time. Every member of the balloon team, from the pilot to the chase crew, loves what they do.
Please share if you love hot air balloons.
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