ROMANCING THE SKIES… ON A HOT AIR BALLOON

By Major Kumar Bhaskar

The deep blue skies, the azure orb above, not a speck in the sky, and not a care in the world. Drifting slowly, soundlessly, in a gentle loop, in solitude, the remoteness of it is striking.  A feeling of awe, something supernatural, brings with it the vastness and emptiness of this universe.  But all is peaceful here.  Time stands still, as slowly the balloon rises up above the world so high, majestic in its aura. What do the skies hold up above for me? It is the ultimate, the challenge of the unknown.  My thoughts wander to bird, the balloon is my sanctuary and the sky my domain.

 

The early morning haze, the fragrance of freshness, the soft gentle breeze, caressing my face in a gentle sway as I float, over the trees, savoring every moment of exquisite happiness. I look up and wonder at the fabric of the huge envelope.  It is called rip-stop nylon and can withstand extreme heat and tremendous winds.  The basket is my home and the burners above, feeding liquid propane butane, to lift the balloon higher, break my reverie.  The burner set is fitted overhead on the basket, which produces long flames directed towards the inner hollow portion of the envelope.  The flames thus heat up the air inside the envelope.  Consequently, heated air encompassed inside the envelope moves upward taking the envelope along with the basket and its accessories.  By regulating the temperature of hot air, balloon can be made to level out or descend.  While flying, it’s totally at the mercy of prevailing wind conditions.  As the direction of wind varies at different levels, the pilot has to constantly maneuver height of the balloon to float in the desired direction.  This constant maneuvering of height is the litmus test of expertise and experience of a pilot. 

 

The sport is not devoid of its share of risks, which may range from minor bruises or jerks while landing to horrific fatalities.  With strong winds pushing the balloon manned by a Pilot totally handicapped in terms of steering, buildings, towers, high tension wires and electric poles, while flying at lower level or while landing always remain a possibility.  Even though one has the safe feeling given the fact that basket is tied up to an envelope which is being heated up by burners to counter mother earth’s gravity, what happens if the burners fail ? Or the envelope catches fire? Or the fuel needed for the flames finishes?   All of these are a few of certain possibilities which persist at the forefront of Pilot’s conscious mind.  Juxtaposed, of course with the emergency drills that he has synthesized into his reflex actions with the grim awareness that they fall far short of adequate backup measures, unlike a well-equipped aircraft or Parachutes.

 

In ballooning, there is another aspect of the loneliness and solitude.  There is time remoteness and also the helplessness of the realization that one is dependent on the reliability of equipment to survive.  Pressure differential and temperature variations, add another dimension to dangers.  At greater heights, external pressure goes below body pressure and the effect is grotesque.  The body swells beyond proportions.  Temperature variation is similarly fatal.    Burner flame burnout is another matter of concern.  With extremely low pressure and temperature and wind streams beyond 50 km per hour,what would happen if the LPG flame gets extinguished? A free fall on the ground, perhaps, as re-igniting the flame would be a task in itself.

 

For the pilot, it is adventure non-pareil, as the balloon soars.  I am fortunate, for ballooning is great adventure.  Hindu mythology abounds in stories of flights of Pushpak Viman by Gods and Goddesses.  But, history records the first conceptual illustration of a balloon in the late 1700s when two French brothers and papermakers Jacques Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier, began experimenting with hot air balloons. They launched their first balloon, made of cloth lined with paper and filled with smoke, on 4 June 1783 in Annonay, France. That September, they launched another balloon carrying a duck, a rooster and a sheep. The balloon stayed aloft for about 8 minutes and delivered the animals safely back to earth. On 21 November of the same year French scientist J F Pilatre de Roziere, ascended for 20 minutes and covered 8 kms in the first manned balloon flight. It was the start of another challenge for men to race each other, higher, further and faster, and the quest to cross oceans and continents in a balloon.

 

Endless sights of darkness, howling wind-streams and solitude keep company in an ehreal world.  Only a silver cloud, beneath, and sweet mother earth below, beckon with open arms.  Horizons do no matter, they are non-existent. Adventures are dreamers and they dream of achieving, pushing their visions into realms of the unknown, in a bid to reach the pinnacle.  After all, those who dare, succeed, & beyond the mist & haze, fraught with dangers, through foil sweat & daring, lies the path to success.

 

Major Kumar Bhaskar, a qualified mountaineer, a reputed sailor and an expert balloonist with over 950 hours flying experience, has carved his name in the annals of adventure in India. A participant of eight ballooning expeditions and two transoceanic sailing expeditions, he has recently set the national record for the longest distance balloon flight. He is presently posted at Army Adventure Wing, Army HQs.