Peoria, Arizona (October 23, 2018) Like many, I kept a bucket list of places I hoped to visit and experiences I wanted to have. Most were travel-related: Rome, Denali National Park, Panama Canal, and Ireland, to name a few. Check, check, check, and check these four.
Not all items on my bucket list were travel-related, though...or at least not travel in the traditional sense.
Not all items on my bucket list were travel-related, though...or at least not travel in the traditional sense.
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly, we can fly
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly, we can fly
Yep, you guessed it: I wanted to fly in a lighter-than-air aircraft, a.k.a., a hot air balloon. It was a dream I had had for the longest time.
“Where did this dream come from?” you ask.
I cannot say for certain, but maybe it took root in 1967 – I was 14 then – when The Fifth Dimension released their #1 hit Up, Up and Away. Great instrumentation, lively vocals, and lyrics that conjured up a fanciful escape.
“Where did this dream come from?” you ask.
I cannot say for certain, but maybe it took root in 1967 – I was 14 then – when The Fifth Dimension released their #1 hit Up, Up and Away. Great instrumentation, lively vocals, and lyrics that conjured up a fanciful escape.
If you hold my hand we’ll chase your dream across the sky,
For we can fly, we can fly.
For we can fly, we can fly.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted this announcement in the Daily Digest of Events for Trilogy at Vistancia, the community Debra and I lived in:
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Grab your bucket list along with your friends and family as Trilogy takes off once again on our 16th Hot Air Adventure that you won’t want to miss. We will be taking off out of our own backyard as the sun rises and will land wherever the wind takes us. $165
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There it was – an opportunity to make my dream a reality. Now, all I had to do was convince Debra.
“Are you nuts?!” she exclaimed. “I hear about hot air balloons floating into power lines and people getting injured, or worse. I’d rather you didn’t do this, Howard.”
Clearly, I had work to do before I got to “Yes.”
“One of the safest forms of aviation,” I assured her. “Mishaps are relatively uncommon,” I stressed. “Experienced pilot,” I argued. Etc., etc., etc. over the next couple of days.
“Okay, okay,” Debra said. “I can’t convince you to stay grounded, so promise me that you’ll listen to the pilot at all times and follow all of the rules.”
I promised I would (and quickly booked my flight before she changed her mind!).
“Are you nuts?!” she exclaimed. “I hear about hot air balloons floating into power lines and people getting injured, or worse. I’d rather you didn’t do this, Howard.”
Clearly, I had work to do before I got to “Yes.”
“One of the safest forms of aviation,” I assured her. “Mishaps are relatively uncommon,” I stressed. “Experienced pilot,” I argued. Etc., etc., etc. over the next couple of days.
“Okay, okay,” Debra said. “I can’t convince you to stay grounded, so promise me that you’ll listen to the pilot at all times and follow all of the rules.”
I promised I would (and quickly booked my flight before she changed her mind!).
The weather was perfect – mid-80s, slight breeze, partly sunny sky.
‘Our own backyard’ was a large expanse of grass behind the Kiva Club at Vistancia. When I arrived, members of the ground crew were inflating colorful nylon balloons. One, two, three, I murmured to myself as I eyed one balloon and then the next. Good – plenty of company.
I watched with the fascination of a child – a combination of interest and delight. And while I watched, I listened as a crew member explained the process from start to finish. (I did not catch his name, so I’ll call him ‘Bob’.)
‘Our own backyard’ was a large expanse of grass behind the Kiva Club at Vistancia. When I arrived, members of the ground crew were inflating colorful nylon balloons. One, two, three, I murmured to myself as I eyed one balloon and then the next. Good – plenty of company.
I watched with the fascination of a child – a combination of interest and delight. And while I watched, I listened as a crew member explained the process from start to finish. (I did not catch his name, so I’ll call him ‘Bob’.)
“There are many steps to prepare a balloon for launch,” Bob began, “and we completed much of the prep work before the first guest arrived this morning.”
“We unloaded the baskets from our trailers, installed the burners, connected them to propane tanks in the pilot’s compartment, performed a safety check on all fittings, unloaded and stretched the balloons, and tethered them to the basket. By the way, each balloon weighs several hundred pounds.”
Hot Air Balloons for Dummies, I thought. Perfect!
“Then we used gas-powered fans to cold inflate the balloons,” Bob continued. “When there was enough cold air in the balloons, we fired up the propane burners to heat that air. This is the step we are at now.”
“The heated air builds pressure inside the balloon, and soon it will begin to rise. Slowly at first, but eventually it will sit in an upright position.”
“How long does it take to inflate a balloon?” I asked.
“About 30 to 40 minutes from start to finish,” he replied, “including many short bursts of flame – five to ten seconds at a time.”
“We unloaded the baskets from our trailers, installed the burners, connected them to propane tanks in the pilot’s compartment, performed a safety check on all fittings, unloaded and stretched the balloons, and tethered them to the basket. By the way, each balloon weighs several hundred pounds.”
Hot Air Balloons for Dummies, I thought. Perfect!
“Then we used gas-powered fans to cold inflate the balloons,” Bob continued. “When there was enough cold air in the balloons, we fired up the propane burners to heat that air. This is the step we are at now.”
“The heated air builds pressure inside the balloon, and soon it will begin to rise. Slowly at first, but eventually it will sit in an upright position.”
“How long does it take to inflate a balloon?” I asked.
“About 30 to 40 minutes from start to finish,” he replied, “including many short bursts of flame – five to ten seconds at a time.”
“And how big is the balloon?” someone called out.
“About 60 feet across and 80 feet tall when fully inflated,” Bob answered.
Geez, that’s almost six stories tall.
With Debra’s concerns about safety in mind, I followed up with, “How is the basket attached to the balloon?”
“Safety pins,” Bob deadpanned. “Just kidding!” was his quick follow up.
Funny guy. Glad Debra didn’t hear that!
“As you can see, there’s a rigid tubular framework that extends upward from the basket. The balloon is attached to this framework with a series of stainless-steel cables.”
The basket, which looked like woven wicker (but might have been a synthetic material) laid on its side until the balloon was upright. The basket was partitioned into five sections – a middle section for the pilot and two sections for passengers on either side of the pilot. Don’t quote me on this, but I would guess that the basket was 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. There were no seats – standing room only.
“About 60 feet across and 80 feet tall when fully inflated,” Bob answered.
Geez, that’s almost six stories tall.
With Debra’s concerns about safety in mind, I followed up with, “How is the basket attached to the balloon?”
“Safety pins,” Bob deadpanned. “Just kidding!” was his quick follow up.
Funny guy. Glad Debra didn’t hear that!
“As you can see, there’s a rigid tubular framework that extends upward from the basket. The balloon is attached to this framework with a series of stainless-steel cables.”
The basket, which looked like woven wicker (but might have been a synthetic material) laid on its side until the balloon was upright. The basket was partitioned into five sections – a middle section for the pilot and two sections for passengers on either side of the pilot. Don’t quote me on this, but I would guess that the basket was 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. There were no seats – standing room only.
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I took stock of my fellow passengers: 30 or so folks, a mix of men and women, and many were silver haired. (Trilogy is a 55+ community.) Many but not all, as I did spot a couple of younger faces – grandkids, I assumed.
The balloons were now upright, and it was time to climb in. As instructed, I placed my left foot in a foothold and swung my right leg into the basket – followed, of course, by my left leg. Rinse and repeat 10 times – 9 passengers, including a preteen girl, and the pilot. “Welcome, everyone,” our pilot began. “My name is Craig. If you haven’t flown in a hot air balloon before, you are about to embark on the most serene flying experience you will ever have. First, though, I have a few rules to go over with you.” |
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The rules were basic stuff – crouch when we take off and land, do not lean over the top of the basket, and do not throw anything out. I told Debra that I would heed all rules, so I actively listened to Craig. (By the way, he’s the fellow on my right.)
“Oh…one more thing,” he chuckled. “There’s no bathroom in this basket, so I hope everyone has an empty bladder.”
I’m way ahead of you, Craig!
Now it was time to lift off.
“I’m going to use the burners to increase the temperature of the air in the balloon,” Craig announced. “You will hear a few short bursts, and then I will signal our crew to release the ropes.”
And he did.
And we gently floated up into the air.
As I stood up from my crouched position, I saw the ground receding below me. The feeling was surreal. No longer was I bound to the earth by gravity. Instead, I was one with the wind and the sky. With eyes wide open, I took a deep breath and thought, I bet this was how Aladdin felt on his magic carpet ride.
“Oh…one more thing,” he chuckled. “There’s no bathroom in this basket, so I hope everyone has an empty bladder.”
I’m way ahead of you, Craig!
Now it was time to lift off.
“I’m going to use the burners to increase the temperature of the air in the balloon,” Craig announced. “You will hear a few short bursts, and then I will signal our crew to release the ropes.”
And he did.
And we gently floated up into the air.
As I stood up from my crouched position, I saw the ground receding below me. The feeling was surreal. No longer was I bound to the earth by gravity. Instead, I was one with the wind and the sky. With eyes wide open, I took a deep breath and thought, I bet this was how Aladdin felt on his magic carpet ride.
A whole new world
Don’t you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath – it gets better
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I use to be
Don’t you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath – it gets better
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I use to be
We rose higher and higher, and as we did, the wind carried us over the backyards and rooftops of homes in my community. But what direction?
As if on cue, Craig observed, “A hot air balloon is impractical if you need to get somewhere specific, because you can’t really steer it and it only travels as fast as the wind blows.”
“The wind is from the east, so we will drift to the west,” he continued. “Currently, the wind speed is stable at about four to six miles per hour. If it holds, we should touch down near Jomax and 163rd Avenue in a little over one hour.”
“The wind is from the east, so we will drift to the west,” he continued. “Currently, the wind speed is stable at about four to six miles per hour. If it holds, we should touch down near Jomax and 163rd Avenue in a little over one hour.”
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“How high will we fly?” I asked.
“Our peak altitude – what we call the ‘flight ceiling’ – should be about 1,100 feet,” Craig replied. |
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I did the quick math: The elevation of Trilogy was about 1,200 feet, so our flight would peak at 2,300 feet or so above sea level. Okay, then!
(The map above was our flight map, with Trilogy to the right and our landing spot to the left. The vertical bars graphed our altitude. Click to enlarge image.)
(The map above was our flight map, with Trilogy to the right and our landing spot to the left. The vertical bars graphed our altitude. Click to enlarge image.)
The sky was a bit hazy, but our ‘inflight movie’ was outstanding nonetheless – the desert, a golf course, and homes below us, tall mountains on the horizon, and wispy white clouds overhead. The scene was ever changing as we drifted west.
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The flight was peaceful…but not noiseless. As we floated in the wind, I heard voices, hisses, and alarms. The voices, full of excitement, came from fellow passengers. They oohed and aahed, laughed, and babbled on about what they saw. (And so did I!) The hisses, which were short but loud, came from the propane burners overhead, which Craig fired from time to time to heat the air in the balloon – an important step to keep us afloat. And the alarms? They were yip-yaps from dogs on the ground – yes, sounds traveled far and high through the open space – a warning, perhaps, to this strange-looking thing that floated over their heads.
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“Would anyone like to fire the burners?” Craig asked.
“I would!” I blurted before anyone else could respond. Just a couple of short bursts, and then I gave someone else a turn. 
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Check out this photo, which I snapped when Craig blew bubbles from a wand. Just like our balloon, the bubbles rode the wind and rose as the air inside was heated by the sun.
All too soon, it seemed, we began to descend. As I looked toward the area where Craig said we would land, I spotted crew trucks at the ready to pick up equipment, passengers, and pilots.
Craig said, “Bend your knees to soften the impact when we land.”
Truth be known, our landing was almost as gentle as the lift off – no big jolt as the basket met the ground.
Craig said, “Bend your knees to soften the impact when we land.”
Truth be known, our landing was almost as gentle as the lift off – no big jolt as the basket met the ground.
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The crew grabbed the ropes to steady the balloon and basket, and after Craig released some of the hot air, he said, “Okay, folks. Please climb out, one at a time, the same way you climbed in – put a foot in the foothold, swing your free leg over the basket, and follow with your other leg.”
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As you can see, we reached the ground safely!
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Back on mother earth, we were greeted with a traditional celebration – a slice of quiche, some fruit, a glass (or two!) of bubbly, and a commemorative flight certificate.
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Debra was thrilled to see me – ALL IN ONE PIECE.
“Well, how was it?” she asked.
“I finally did it, hon,” I beamed. “I flew in a hot air balloon. It was a dream come true!”
“Well, tell me about it,” she asked with a smile.
And then I shared my experience with her, just as I have shared it with you.
“Well, how was it?” she asked.
“I finally did it, hon,” I beamed. “I flew in a hot air balloon. It was a dream come true!”
“Well, tell me about it,” she asked with a smile.
And then I shared my experience with her, just as I have shared it with you.