One day while on a leisure sight-seeing walk through a hiking trail in northern Virginia something bright on the horizon caught my eye. But before I could make out what it was, it was blocked by trees. Soon, I saw it again…and another bright spot. What was it? Too late, more trees hiding them from our sight. Now we’re looking hard, waiting for another break in the trees to try and figure out what they were. We finally came upon a farmer’s field and got a longer view…they are hot air balloons!
Today is #WednesdayWalk with @Tattoodjay. It was a challenge started by him to get people up and moving, all the while, looking for something to photograph. You can check outhis current post, along with with the rules guidelines to the challenge. It's all the rage! Everyone is doing it!
How can you say beautiful???!!
Only wait, there was another…and another…and another. What was going on? While they were beautiful, I was a little concerned about how low some of them were. As we drove closer, they were getting even lower. Are they going to land??? We were finally getting close enough to see the details as we came into a small town. By this time, the balloons were barley clearing the houses and powerlines, I was very worried about a few of them. Up till this point, there was nowhere to pull over and watch, but as they were starting to land, we came upon their location and it was a school that had plenty of open ground for the balloons to land on. We happily walked into the school parking lot to observe this mass landing. What an awesome event, you had to be there to feel the electricity in the air and the amount of excitement the locals were starting to show.
I have a small confession to make. For my entire life, I’ve continuously spotted interesting things or situations and while maintaining personal distance, I make up a mythical explanation for what I’ve observed (it is usually complicated and quite humorous – to me anyway. In this case, WHY???
A dentist, flying in his chair. Yes, it was a sight to see.
Why did they start landing in mass at this High School? I had to work quickly to come up with MY reason before we could talk to any of them to see what they had to say. To develop “my story” I needed to review “my understanding of hot air balloon flight…
Flying hot air balloons is partly skill, part luck and can be affected by your Metrological knowledge. The basic physics of getting and staying airborne are simple when you heat a gas (in this case air), it expands while keeping its same mass. This means that the air is less dense (more volume with same mass) and similar to wood floating in water (wood is less dense than water), the hot air will “float”, or rise. Now it is just a matter of making sure the balloon is big enough to hold enough hot air to counter the weight associated with the fabric…and, of course, the basket, burner(s), gas tanks and people (complete with camera’s!).
Now that we can get our mythical air balloon airborne, how do we make it go where we want it to go? That is where your knowledge of metrology comes in handy. Since the balloon will float wherever the wind brings it, you have to know where the winds are that will take you where you want to go. The odds are against you in this department if you want to go from a given place to another given location. Here is where you have to be flexible. Do you want to be flexible on where you start, or where you end up? After you make this decision, you look at the available winds aloft information and you can decide how to make the journey you have selected.
In this analysis you don’t simply look at the surface winds…you also need to look at different altitudes n(“winds aloft”), because the winds are different velocities and often even in different directions at different altitudes. Winds closer to the surface are more affected by local terrain (the wind always blows down this valley…or the winds are always blowing onto the shore in the afternoon and offshore early in the day, etc.) while the winds at higher altitudes are more affected by the earth’s rotation (such as the “jet streams”) and major movements of air (“weather fronts”). In the case of the hot air balloon, you are more concerned with the mid to lower-level winds and you want to just avoid most weather fronts (so you can live to fly another day). If you could climb high enough to be concerned with the jet streams (you probably can’t because of the amount of gas you can carry vs. how much heat you would need to climb/keep a hot air balloon this high), you will be wishing you had used a helium with an enclosed gondola instead because the outside air temperature will be well below negative 50 degrees – both Fahrenheit and Celsius!). Happy dreaming, and next time you see a hot air balloon ride, you can have a little more appreciation for the pilots!
So, what are we left with? It is up to the hot air balloon pilot to adjust the temperature (density) of the air in his balloon to make it do what he wants it to do. When the pilot wants to take off, or climb, air needs to be heated with a large burner until the response he wants. When the burner stops, the air will immediately start cooling, which is why keeping the desired buoyancy is a constant battle with the burner going on and off very often. So, to navigate, the pilot needs to adjust the balloon’s altitude to get where the winds favor the desired flight plan.
This was written by a sometimes back seat pilot with a good knowledge of flight, physics and weather, but not a balloon pilot. Let me know if I got any of this wrong.
Let's wrap this up and put it away!!
Look up to the sky!
As always, there must be a flower. This flower is dedicated to #WednesdayYellow #ColorChallenge by @Kalemandra, who colors my world every day.
¸.♥´¸.•♥¨) Let the sun shine in on your life
So the joy may touch your soul
(¸.•´♥ (¸.•´ ♥
As always, keep on singing that song!! And just like that, this post is done. Thank you for stopping by and saying hello, leaving your words behind... and just so you know, although much sun and shine were used up today, I can guarantee that there is still a little left in my heart. Have a most fabulous day! And keep on Steemin!! We are in this together!
Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Because of you, I come back to post, again and again. Keep it classy, people. Kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.
I always post this poem down at the bottom of my posts. It is one that has become so near and dear to my heart. I only post the most famous part of it, but, wanted to post it in its entirety today.
they set my aunts house on fire
i cried the way women on tv do
folding at the middle
like a five pound note.
i called the boy who use to love me
tried to ‘okay’ my voice
i said hello
he said warsan, what’s wrong, what’s happened?
i’ve been praying,
and these are what my prayers look like;
dear god
i come from two countries
one is thirsty
the other is on fire
both need water.
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered,
"where does it hurt?"
it answered,
"everywhere"
"everywhere"
"everywhere"
warsan shire
#Steemusa is a growing community of quality-content people from the United States or those living here. Check us out on Discord!
.gif)
I think it must be quite a bit like sailing, just a bit less control. Yeah I might like the quiet of floating along, but the flame burner are loud when they light. Very good explanation about hunting the wind layers!
I think you are right, with comparing it to sailing, but yes!! Less control! You would absolutely love it! In fact, my first ride was when I was an ignorant teenager while volunteering to help set up balloon race on the East Coast of Connecticut. That is the way to suck you in for life!!! :)
I think you should do it! You would love it!
But, you are right about the burners. That can be intimidating if you don't know what to expect. But, honestly, I see you at the helm of a sailboat. Hat, sunglasses and classic white. Oh! Don't forget the Docksiders.
!tip
🎁 Hi @old-guy-photos! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Monochrome Monday With A Touch Of Red Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
This post was curated by @theluvbug
and has received an upvote and a delayed resteem to hopefully generate some ❤ extra love ❤ for your post!
In Proud Collaboration with The Power House Creatives
and their founder @jaynie
Thank you so much @LuvBug!!Much appreciated!
!tip
🎁 Hi @theluvbug! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Beautiful Moments Strung Together Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
I love seeign hot air balloons they have an event here I went to a couple of times seeing so many taking off at once is amazing but never heard till this post of so many landing in one spot how cool you came across that.
they are always so colorful and eye-catching, but I have never seen a dentist one I have to admit, and since going tot he dentist is never something I want to do I don't mind if I never do.
Thanks for all the info on how they navigate, that was very interesting :)
Thanks for joining the Wednesday walk
!trdo
Congratulations @tattoodjay, you are successfuly trended the post that shared by @dswigle!
@dswigle got 6 TRDO & @tattoodjay got 4 TRDO!
"Call TRDO, Your Comment Worth Something!"
To view or trade TRDO go to steem-engine.com
Join TRDO Discord Channel or Join TRDO Web Site
Thank you @tattoodjay!
Thank you for hosting such a great tag! They are fun and scary, all at the same time! :)
It is always a pleasure to join you!
!tip
🎁 Hi @tattoodjay! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Up, Down And All Around They Come Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
What a story - so much information in one post, but the dentist in his chair in the air is something special - I have never seen such ... cool 😊
You have done a lot of research and who has never been riding on a hot air balloon, could now be interested in doing it just because of the beautiful photos.
If anyone would ask me, if it's dangerous, I would say "maybe", and if he would ask me if I would recommend such a balloon ride, I would say "definitely" 😊
!BEER
Well, not so much research as putting my information down on paper. I took my first balloon ride when I was a teenager, helping an organization put together balloon races on the Eastern Shore of Connecticut. It definitely was a growing operation, and I was an ignorant teenager, not really calculating the risk factors, but, Oh, my!!
I would do it every day if I could. Scary, exhilarating, and exciting! Yes! Yes!
You should look at doing it. I know you would not be disappointed! The dentist chair was new to me, it was kind of funny. :)
I hope you are having a great day!
!tip
I have done it only once, but I can still remember the feeling up there. It was wonderful and so silent up there, looking down to these small people and their houses... it is so much different from flying in a plane.
Of course, I would do it again at any time, but that's a quite expensive thing here.
Thank you for your nice comment, I really appreciated evey word.
I wish you a great day too and an even better weekend, Denise 😊
... and thank you for the !tip
Ha! Thank YOU for the tip, sir!
It is quite expensive here, but, if you can get on the volunteer team of one of them, they usually will give you a good break or let you on when there is plenty of room. There are some places that have balloon races, as opposed to balloon rides, which I imagine will never give an inch in price. :)
I love planes, but, I took some lessons in a glider, a fixed-wing aircraft whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Now THAT is fun!!! :)
Have a most amazing day!
!tip
It is quite different here. Maybe there are races and such in other areas, but I wouldn't know of any around where I live.
There are also only a few small companies, who offer balloon rides, and they make the price they want. These companies are mostly family businesses, and I think, I would also be a bit too old for that volounteer thing ;)
Thank you for another tip, Denise 😊
I would give you a !BEER , but I think, they have some problems in the brewery ;)
🎁 Hi @johannpiber! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Monochrome Monday With A Touch Of Red Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Thank you so much 😊
🎁 Hi @dswigle! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @johannpiber!
@johannpiber wrote lately about: Common Redstart / Gartenrotschwanz (Female) Feel free to follow @johannpiber if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
🎁 Hi @johannpiber! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Monochrome Monday With A Touch Of Red Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Thank you very much for the tip, @dswigle 😊
Wow, awesome shots hot air balloons and i am interested to fly near future.
Well, that is wonderul! I am sure you will love it!!!
Have a great day @kamrunnahar!
!tip
🎁 Hi @kamrunnahar! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Up, Down And All Around They Come Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Such an excellent post! I love hot air balloons but rarely get a chance to see one... you've captured wonderful shots of so many of them... how lucky! That must have been such a thrill for you! U+R will pleasure :-)
Thank you so much, Keith. You are always way too kind. Actually, my first ride was when I was an ignorant teenager while volunteering to help set up balloon race on the East Coast of Connecticut. Exhilarating!
You should do it!!! You would love it!! I hope you have a safe trip and we will hear from you while you are gone! You know you will miss us!
!tip
🎁 Hi @keithboone! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Up, Down And All Around They Come Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Wow I must confess that it should be the maximum, it's like my big dream.
I hope you realize your dream! Thank you for stopping by and saying hello!
Have a nice day!
!tip
as long as we have life everything is possibl.
🎁 Hi @truelovemom! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Monochrome Monday With A Touch Of Red Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Thank you
Congratulations @dswigle! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Thank you for the upvote @steeemitboard!
!tip
You're welcome @dswigle and thank you for your unfailing support!
🎁 Hi @steemitboard! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Monochrome Monday With A Touch Of Red Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Have you been on one? I love the colors :)
Yes!!! I love them!! They always have such brilliant colors! How are you today? It is going to be a hot one!
!tip
🎁 Hi @rossfletcher! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Up, Down And All Around They Come Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
After long time later ,i also seen this type of colourful parachute and sky view .really very nice and different. Anyway thanks for share your valuable post .
Posted using Partiko Android
Thank you for stopping by! They are really exciting to watch and see and Ride!!! Parachutes are different, but, the fabric is probably something like it and it is equally as colorful.
As always, I wish you a wonderful day!
!tip
🎁 Hi @shuvo35! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Up, Down And All Around They Come Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)