The modern hot-air balloon

Today most people take it for granted that large, shining aeroplanes as speedy matter-of-fact vehicles transfer them to distant vacation spots in a few hours. One reflects then with respect that there are still singular individuals left who enjoy nothing better than to entrust themselves to a wicker basket slung below a feather-light balloon to be borne to such unpredictable destinations as the whims' of the wind may whisk them. This assumes even more of a romantic aspect when the evolution returns to the point whence it started: for the aerial steeds mounted by these modern sky roamers often revert to the hot-air principle of the Montgolfier brothers' balloon.

The re-birth of the Montgolfier balloon type is due mainly to economy, for the hot-air balloon is the cheapest way of indulging in this sport. In several countries aeronauts may still, by good fortune, be able to procure hydrogen cheaply for the filling of their balloons, if the gas chances to be a by-product of the local chemical works.

At the time that this was written, the biggest number of hot-air balloons was to be found in the United States, where some forty of them were privately owned. In Great Britain there were more than 20 hot-air balloons, and in several other countries two or three - though these figures may well be obsolete by the time these lines appear, as ballooning - not least with the hot-air type - steadily gains new followers. In America Don Piccard, a nephew of the stratosphere explorer- Augustine Piccard, has established himself as a manufacturer of hot-air balloons.

The envelope of a modern hot-air balloon is generally made of tear-proof nylon with panels of an almost semicircular shape. There are both a valve opening and a ripping-panel in the envelope. Houses without connection to gas pipelines, and caravans often use a gas supply in the form of butane stored in steel bottles. Propane gas in liquid state is a similar heating source, generating much heat and used extensively for industrial applications; and propane gas is well suited as a heating source for hot-air balloons.

This gas is fed from pressure bottles mounted above the car into evaporation spiral tubes in the burner. These spirals surround the flames that are lit with a match. The balloon envelope is filled with hot air on the ground by placing the burner below the opening (mouth) in the envelope, and when the hot air has caused the envelope to rise the gas bottle is mounted in its place above the car. Then the balloon is ready to ascend. By applying the full pressure of the burner for some seconds, at intervals of about 30 seconds, the balloon will maintain its altitude or climb. When the air inside the envelope cools off the balloon descends.

Many look upon the combination of balloon envelope and open fire as the height of reckless folly, but the nylon material is often coated with polyurethane and does not ignite. Even if the fabric should be scorched, the holes created cause no ill effect. It is obvious that the occupant or occupants of the hot-air balloon are not anxious to run any undue risks.

A few fun Hot Air Balloons