"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
Have you ever been in a hot air balloon? Let me tell you, it is a very interesting experience.
Back in May of 1998, I had the pleasure of getting a free ride in one. The annual Hospice League Horizons Balloon Fest and Air Show that is held at the Burlington/Alamance Regional Airport is really cool. The company that my husband works for, Triad Aviation/H&H Propeller is one of the sponsors. They have a drawing among employees to see who gets to go for the free "sponsor ride". He won, and since my birthday was on the second day of the festival, he gave it to me.
There are about 20-30 balloons that crews bring to this festival from around the US and Canada. Being on the ground watching all of them air up at the same time is an experience in itself.
Before you can launch a balloon, the weather has to be agreeable--too much wind, or any rain cancels a flight. All of the equipment must be checked out before the flight and the crews must be ready with the chase vehicles.
The sponsor banner | Checking the burners |
All the balloons are inflated at the same time. It doesn't take that long--maybe about 10-15 minutes to be ready to launch. There were 2 other people in the basket besides myself--the pilot and another person from a company other than my husbands. The basket that you ride in is not very large--about 5 feet square, so there is not very much room.
Airing her up...... | |
Others around us | Ready to go! |
Who needs an airplane? | Up and up.... |
The Purple People Eater | Look out below... |
Floating 3,800 feet above the ground was an experience that was not for the faint-hearted, let me tell you! The whole flight lasted about 30 minutes. There wasn't much wind that day, so we only went to the other side of the airport. I really enjoyed it and hope to get to go ballooning again someday....
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