I guess I'll break my silence on this board.
I'm a balloon pilot, and I also have my private fixed-wing, and my glider licence. My original intention was simply to go fixed-wing commercial, but this opportunity popped up, so I'm doing this for a while, I put my fixed-wing on hold for a bit while I have my fun doing this.
I've been reading this board for a few years, but only actually joined a few months ago and have never really had a reason to post anything until now. I don't remember ever spotting any other LTA pilots on this board, so I guess it's up to me.
Missed_Approach wrote:At what point in your life as a Pilot do you decide, "Hey, I want to fly hot air balloons"
This reminds me of a Simpsons episode for the Mono Rail training course
"Mono = 1, and Rail = Rail... well that concludes the 2 week training course"
At what point do you decide "I want to fly airplanes?"
To write off an entire portion of aviation as simplistic is very, very ignorant, especially when you have no experience in the matter. Come flying with us sometime, and we'll show you how it's done. It's a whole different ballgame and a whole different lifestyle. I don't mean to sound hostile with this, and I apologise if it comes off that way. I don't speak of things that I don't have experience with, and there very little I dislike more than when others say things that they really have no business saying.
Flying balloons is a whole different can of fish than flying an airplane. It takes a whole lot of experience and whole lot of skill to properly master flying balloons. You need to work with the winds, rather than against them. It's much, much more of an art than flying airplanes. Airplanes, you get the numbers to right spot and you keep them there. In a balloon, every single thing around you affects you. Every field and every hill gives a different motion to your flight, every breeze and every little bit of heat the sun puts out changes things. Every flight is completely different from the last, and you need to adapt to every single variable.
We've been flying for longer than any other part of aviation, and there are many reasons for it, fun being the main one. I've flown gliders, singles, twins but nothing even comes close to a balloon when you just want to have fun.
There's nothing like the feeling of taking off and not knowing where you're going to land or what you're going to see. Or landing in a schoolyard and having hundreds of kids come out to watch. Or floating along a river, with your feet 6 inches above the water, watching the fish beneath you and the deer on the banks.
bmc wrote:They're just a little too unforgiving for my taste. Lose the bag, lose your life. Most of accidents are downright tragic and frightening.
Actually, a balloon is probably the most forgiving aircraft, and like the rest of aviation, only the most severe of accidents are heard of in the media. Ballooning is perhaps the most safe sector of aviation. Unfortunately, I cannot find the statistics at the moment, but our safety record is extremely good.
"Lost he bag, lose your life" isn't a situation that really happens. How often does the wing fall off an airplane? Or the rotors fly off a helo? It's the same with us. There is really nothing out there (other than a mid-air collision with another aircraft) that could cause the loss of the entire envelope in flight.
As far as this story goes. Well, let's just say there's a whole lot more to the story than the entirely inaccurate media (not a single thing I've read in any of the articles has had accurate information) hell, the only thing they got right was the type of balloon. To even call it a "crash" is an exaggeration. It was a mechanical-related accident on a (routine) high-speed landing. I know the pilot, who is severely injured. He's quite a character and quite well known across the country. It's a tragedy that it happened, and I hope that he recovers.
Hedley wrote:Nothing Transport does surprises me any more.
If the proper information comes out with the investigation, I assure you, it will be surprising.
There's a lot of bad information floating out there about ballooning. If anybody has any questions about ballooning, I'd be more than happy to answer them. I only read the board once a week or so, but I'll keep my eyes open.
