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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sussex Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

This past weekend was the hot air balloon fiesta in Sussex, New Brunswick. Since the weather on Saturday was not great I made the trip early (5:30 a.m.) to Sussex on Sunday to see the balloons launch at 7:00 in the morning. It was a long drive at such an early hour but well worth it. According to a brochure that I read the best time to fly is just after sunrise when the winds are at their calmest and the air is more stable.

A hot air balloon acts like a big bubble, and attached to the bubble is a basket, which is made of wicker and woven by hand, for the pilot and passengers, a heat source, and fuel. When the balloon first arrives it is folded into the basket along with all of the equipment needed. Once it is laid out for inflation it may be as long as 60 feet and nearly as wide. Air is then forced into the balloon and then the pilot will ignite the heat source, which is typically a propane burner, and aim the flame directly inside the balloon. The air inside the balloon needs to be heated to temperatures of 100 to 250 degrees greater than the air outside. As the air begins to heat, the balloon will begin to rise to a position above the basket and then it is ready to go!

The balloon itself is made of reinforced fabric called rip-stop nylon. This material is very lightweight, but very strong. The fabric is then coated on the inside to prevent leaks. Once in the air the pilot will go wherever the wind takes him, but by selecting different altitudes and wind currents a trained pilot can fly in any direction they want to go. Since the balloon has no forward propulsion systems, its speed is determined by the speed of the wind.

When it is time to land there is a vent at the top of the balloon that is opened to dump some of the air and the pilot light on the propane burner is blown out. As the air inside the balloon begins to cool the whole kit and caboodle will begin to descend to the ground.

Hot air balloons work on one of two principles. The "hot air rises" principle is at work in balloons with propane tanks aboard; the propane heats the air, the air rises, the balloon floats. In other words it is truly full of hot air.

The burners in an hot air balloon generally run on propane. The propane is kept in pressurized tanks on the floor of the basket. It carries 30 to 40 gallons of liquid propane, which passes to the burner throught flexible hoses. When the valve opens and the pilot light is lit the flame may shoot out as much as 10 to 20 feet and make a loud “whoosh” sound.

Propane is a relatively clean fuel, but the balloons require quite a bit of it in flight – an amount comparible to running your gas grill for three days. The propane does emit some pollutants, including carbon dioxide. However, the amount of pollutants emitted by balloon burners is small compared to cars, motor boats, and SUVs. In the big picture hot air balloons have a very small effect on the environment.

Propane is a petroleum by-product that is usually extracted when making other oil products. In this way you could argue that it's making the most of an energy source. It also burns much cleaner than some other types of fuel and hot air balloons are a relatively efficient mode of transportation as it can go pretty far on very little fuel.

Lisa Emery, B.A. is currently living in Amherst. Lisa invites comments to her columns. You can contact Lisa at: emeryvine@gmail.com.

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