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Vermont October '08-- Hot Air Balloon
Hello all--
My wife has seen the aspens of Colorado and the forests of Wyoming and Montana-- but never the spectrum of the Northeast US in the Fall-- so we packed our bags and headed to Vermont where we scheduled a hot air balloon ride. For those of you who have seen the movie, "The Bucket List," this was one of our items...
It was an early morning for us-- cold and very wet as Vermont is filled with lakes and rivers that fog up almost everything through the night.
The flight begins with the pilot (closest to the photographer) and his chase crew unpacking the balloon and spreading it out.
Gas-power fans are fired up to fill the balloon with ambient air-- and they fill it quickly!
The pilot then fires the jets, which is a combination of mixed air and high-pressure propane, into the balloon-- in such cold air, the jets make short work of righting the balloon...
Up it went-- but not without us first getting in.
Though it was a cold, damp morning...things were warmed by the light of a gazillion BTUs filling our balloon. You can see the very top there is an opening, which allows for stable flow of air inside the balloon-- and the pilots only flight controls are the flaps you see further out from the opening that can be pulled down to release air for descents-- and you can descend pretty fast in one of these things, thank gravity!
As a pilot of multi-engine, powered planes, there is usually a lot of noise and movement on take off-- making it very clear you're headed into the sky. But in a balloon, without the pilot's crew saying, "have a good flight," I would not have known we lifted off...
Our departure point-- a grass airfield that's been in use since the end of WWII.
The sunrise on a foggy Vermont morning...
My camera decided it would freak out on me right about now. I'm in a hot air balloon, at sunrise, surrounded by amazing mountains and colors and my camera wanted to roll over and play dead-- I nearly cried.
The small towns of Vermont bring new meaning to small. In general, every town has a white church and around it are all the little houses which all have a pile of firewood outside. Its like someone from Hallmark drew them in!
This is the mountain behind the airport we just left-- our shadow made apparent by the rising sun.
In a land of mountains and rolling hills, there are also lots of rivers and valleys-- the pilot was very good at catching different winds at different levels which took us over a ridge line.
A cabin tucked into the trees-- just crossing the ridge line here.
We went pretty high-- roughly 2000 feet AGL (above the ground) to cross the ridge. Weather, winds and temps, are rather strange. Most people would assume it gets colder as you go up-- which in general is true, but not at lower levels. It was warmer in the higher altitudes we achieved when compared to the ground-- due to the heavier, stable air (and fog) stinking to lower levels.
Some said the leaves were past peak-- they must not have meant this place...amazing!
Mornings and evenings-- the best time for photography!
Another view of the ridge line before we began a descent to catch another stream of winds.
The hills went on and on...
Straight down over the ridge!
Our silhouette cast upon the hill side.
You've heard of bridges to nowhere-- here's an interstate to nowhere! I-91S as seen from our balloon-- Vermont is not very populated and the interstates seem to go on and on.
Down the wayside of the ridge we go... someone's house hugs the hillside, complete with firewood and an orchard. All through the flight you can hear dogs barking at us and people yelling, "Good morning!" to us.
After the ridge, a huge valley opened up that was socked in with fog but the colors were brilliant.
We lowered in altitude to just above the fog-- the forests are so beautiful.
Halo-- the effect of the sun on our backs and the fog in front of us created this halo, which our pilot said gives the onlooker 7 years good luck. I blinked a lot-- so I figure I'm good in the luck department for the rest of my life.
This bridge with its river and the heavy fog gave a dramatic, if not colorful, scene.
Here we are, our reflection in the drink! Please don't land now!
I don't have any pics of the descent as it went pretty quickly-- and we went through a tree! But here I am on the ground, helping to guide the basket onto the trailer while the pilot floated the basket.
Carrie and I pose with the basket as the balloon is still above us out of the frame-- I need a wide angle lens!
Once the basket was back on the trailer and the jets went cold, the balloon came down....fast.
Carrie takes charge by gathering up the balloon....actually, she was holding it while the rest of us gather it to keep it dry.
She loves having her photo taken! Especially while holding balloons!
It was an awesome experience-- one I would do again in a heart-beat. It was rather expensive...but if you mean to see something as grand and impressive as the fall colors of the Northeast, there is no other way that can compare. And at least its checked off my bucket list.
Ryan
My wife has seen the aspens of Colorado and the forests of Wyoming and Montana-- but never the spectrum of the Northeast US in the Fall-- so we packed our bags and headed to Vermont where we scheduled a hot air balloon ride. For those of you who have seen the movie, "The Bucket List," this was one of our items...
It was an early morning for us-- cold and very wet as Vermont is filled with lakes and rivers that fog up almost everything through the night.
The flight begins with the pilot (closest to the photographer) and his chase crew unpacking the balloon and spreading it out.
Gas-power fans are fired up to fill the balloon with ambient air-- and they fill it quickly!
The pilot then fires the jets, which is a combination of mixed air and high-pressure propane, into the balloon-- in such cold air, the jets make short work of righting the balloon...
Up it went-- but not without us first getting in.
Though it was a cold, damp morning...things were warmed by the light of a gazillion BTUs filling our balloon. You can see the very top there is an opening, which allows for stable flow of air inside the balloon-- and the pilots only flight controls are the flaps you see further out from the opening that can be pulled down to release air for descents-- and you can descend pretty fast in one of these things, thank gravity!
As a pilot of multi-engine, powered planes, there is usually a lot of noise and movement on take off-- making it very clear you're headed into the sky. But in a balloon, without the pilot's crew saying, "have a good flight," I would not have known we lifted off...
Our departure point-- a grass airfield that's been in use since the end of WWII.
The sunrise on a foggy Vermont morning...
My camera decided it would freak out on me right about now. I'm in a hot air balloon, at sunrise, surrounded by amazing mountains and colors and my camera wanted to roll over and play dead-- I nearly cried.
The small towns of Vermont bring new meaning to small. In general, every town has a white church and around it are all the little houses which all have a pile of firewood outside. Its like someone from Hallmark drew them in!
This is the mountain behind the airport we just left-- our shadow made apparent by the rising sun.
In a land of mountains and rolling hills, there are also lots of rivers and valleys-- the pilot was very good at catching different winds at different levels which took us over a ridge line.
A cabin tucked into the trees-- just crossing the ridge line here.
We went pretty high-- roughly 2000 feet AGL (above the ground) to cross the ridge. Weather, winds and temps, are rather strange. Most people would assume it gets colder as you go up-- which in general is true, but not at lower levels. It was warmer in the higher altitudes we achieved when compared to the ground-- due to the heavier, stable air (and fog) stinking to lower levels.
Some said the leaves were past peak-- they must not have meant this place...amazing!
Mornings and evenings-- the best time for photography!
Another view of the ridge line before we began a descent to catch another stream of winds.
The hills went on and on...
Straight down over the ridge!
Our silhouette cast upon the hill side.
You've heard of bridges to nowhere-- here's an interstate to nowhere! I-91S as seen from our balloon-- Vermont is not very populated and the interstates seem to go on and on.
Down the wayside of the ridge we go... someone's house hugs the hillside, complete with firewood and an orchard. All through the flight you can hear dogs barking at us and people yelling, "Good morning!" to us.
After the ridge, a huge valley opened up that was socked in with fog but the colors were brilliant.
We lowered in altitude to just above the fog-- the forests are so beautiful.
Halo-- the effect of the sun on our backs and the fog in front of us created this halo, which our pilot said gives the onlooker 7 years good luck. I blinked a lot-- so I figure I'm good in the luck department for the rest of my life.
This bridge with its river and the heavy fog gave a dramatic, if not colorful, scene.
Here we are, our reflection in the drink! Please don't land now!
I don't have any pics of the descent as it went pretty quickly-- and we went through a tree! But here I am on the ground, helping to guide the basket onto the trailer while the pilot floated the basket.
Carrie and I pose with the basket as the balloon is still above us out of the frame-- I need a wide angle lens!
Once the basket was back on the trailer and the jets went cold, the balloon came down....fast.
Carrie takes charge by gathering up the balloon....actually, she was holding it while the rest of us gather it to keep it dry.
She loves having her photo taken! Especially while holding balloons!
It was an awesome experience-- one I would do again in a heart-beat. It was rather expensive...but if you mean to see something as grand and impressive as the fall colors of the Northeast, there is no other way that can compare. And at least its checked off my bucket list.
Ryan
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Isn't hot air ballooning a wonderful experience. We did the fall colors in Virginia last year - part of this experience was actually participating in the preparation of the balloon for flight. If you'd like to check out our photos: http://eenusa.smugmug.com/gallery/3855870_r3vrB//223216624_h9mqJ
I also had an opportunity to go up in Cappadocia, Turkey - what a wonderful place to go ballooning:
http://eenusa.smugmug.com/gallery/4313256_cUrNw//253453754_kE8Ht
Cuong
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