Tough Balloon Launch

We couldn't believe this guy was actually going to launch, but he did. The balloon is tied off to our truck. Once the balloon was standing up, the wind was so strong that it actually moved the truck several inches before they released the tie-down strap.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Ballooning

[growingupisoptional]

Found a really cool video search under "hot air balloon picks up van" now that is a windy launch.

Picks up and throws a full van on it's side

[23628904]

@growingupisoptional I applaud the pilot's expertise but I'm not sure how good an idea it was to take a first-time teenage passenger with him on what certainly was a risky ride, especially since he was the only pilot to launch that day. And yes, we do appreciate the conservatism of our pilot, even though he’s had his share of tough landings after easy launches.

[Logan11350]

I've watched this over and over and still can't see the truck move. I have seen balloons lift trucks off the ground and flip passenger vans over, that's something to worry about.

[23628904]

I've never seen it that bad and certainly hope I never do. We're spolied here. We fly year-round, and our pilot is choosy about when to fly. He's retired and does it for pleasure. He used to fly commercially, and that's when he's had some close calls. Had paying customers, so the pressure was on. Now it's for fun only, and we, the crew, are certainly OK with that. He treats us very well. If we go out to fly almost always buys us breakfast afterward, whether we fly or not.

[Logan11350]

Why did you let him tie off to your truck then? If you have a problem with it. Also it's only speculation to say that he might have had a high wind landing. I have taken off in high winds and landed in less than 2 mph. Lots of times you can find still air on the back side of hills if your ok with dealing with a little wind rotor.

[23628904]

Our pilot has also experienced what you did. He was unpacking right in front of my truck, and it wasn't as bad as it got when he asked, so I said yes. Yes, you can't really see the truck move, what with my unsteady camera hand and other commotion, but after he took off you could see where the tires had slipped. I didn't see it myself until I saw the slipping tire tracks. The woman who walks by the truck and points to it is my wife - she saw it as she was so close to it.

[PaulFSemicolen01]

Too fast for me ^_^

[bluesrockfanatic]

I'm sorry but anyone that decides to fly a balloon in winds like that is a fuckin idiot. I'm amazed he didn't even burn holes in his balloon.

[growingupisoptional]

@23628904 because you have the skill to and can.

Nothing wrong with conservative flying if it floats your boat.

[23628904]

This was obviously a well experienced pilot. But one of the issues I had was that he tied off to my truck as you can see in the video, and the truck moved 6" because of the wind. Then he took a first-time teenage passenger on the flight, and very likely had a very hard high-wind landing. That's simply not a safe thing to do. I don't have a problem with taking a student on a flight like this for a learning experience, but a first-time teenager? She'll probably never fly again; sad! Only he flew!