How quickly dreams come true! True, for some reason, those that you don't really want, but just keep in reserve. Last summer, when we hitchhiked in Turkey, we saw how over Cappadocia soar into the sky hundreds of balloons. That day I just took a picture of them and thought that I had to somehow implement it. And it so happened that I was destined to become an aeronaut only in Moscow..
As part of his post What to do in Moscow at the weekend, I got a coupon for a hot air balloon flight in Moscow. It was bought on Biglion.ru, it was a 50% discount, a total of 3800 rubles came out for 1 hour in the air, which seems to me a little expensive for such entertainment. By the way, flights in Turkey are cheaper, that is, they cost about the same, only without a discount. Then a similar action, only from another ballooning club, was on the Groupon and already for 1800r. Who would have known in advance ...
The content of the article
- one Preparing for a hot air balloon flight
- 2 Hot air balloon flight in Moscow
- 3 Balloon landing
- 4 Some information about aeronautics
Preparing for a hot air balloon flight
I had to leave Moscow already at 4 am. Flights in summer are carried out only in the morning and in the evening, during the day the airspace is apparently occupied. But what a beautiful sun met us on the way.
Dawn before the flight, we go to the meeting point
As it turned out, the most interesting thing is anticipation. You come to the field and the movement begins around: everything is unpacked, the balls are deployed on the ground and begin to fill with warm air. Everything happens quickly and efficiently. You look at this and wait for a miracle, because before you saw balloons only in the sky.
This is how balloons and passengers are transported along the ground
Burner check
Everything is in full swing
Spread the ball out of the bag
Spread all over the ground
Filled with air from a fan
Then they turn on the burner and fill it with hot air
When the ball starts to rise, it is held
Everybody prepares to take off
The first balloons are already in the air
A special heart-shaped balloon for newlyweds
Gas cylinders for flight
Everyone is photographed against the background of balloons
In about 30 minutes, a small car trailer turns into a huge means of transportation by air. The pilot practically does not turn off the burner, the command is given to jump ...
A command is given and we take off
Full speed ahead!
Hot air balloon flight in Moscow
A slight tremor, smiles on their faces, excitement, and the basket is lifted off the ground. The hot air balloon flight has begun! The first feeling that you are taking the elevator, everything is calm and no shaking. If you do not look overboard, you will not understand that you are taking off, no fear. It also looks like you are standing on an open observation deck of some kind of tower. It becomes a little uncomfortable only when you look at the ground floating under you and think that you are separated from it only by the plastic bottom of the basket and a few hundred meters.
Below is the field from which we took off
There are already many of us in the sky
And under the basket there is a forest
The landscapes near Moscow float by
Everything a pilot needs to fly a balloon
If you were looking for a place for a tent, then here it is
According to the established tradition, when I get the opportunity to take pictures from a height (tv tower in munich, television tower in Kuala Lumpur), the weather deteriorates sharply, the sky becomes gray and covered with clouds. So it happened this time, we did not see the bright blue sky and cheerful colors of the meadows. But we saw what the Dmitrovsky district looks like from a height: small people, toy houses and cars. Probably, if the landscape were not Russian, it would be more interesting to watch.
Hot air balloon flight
Hot air balloon flight
The city of Dmitrov is below us
The city of Dmitrov is below us
I'm all so serious
Gateway in Dmitrovsky district
Hot air balloon flight
Railway bridge
People and cars below are like toys
Cityscapes
I never wanted to look behind the fence?
Typical summer cottage of an ordinary office worker
And someone lives like that, though with a swimming pool
Balloon landing
Well, the funniest thing is the balloon landing. The basket flops to the ground, bounces several times, and leaves behind a trail of trampled grass and a little dug earth. Only at this stage a couple of drops of adrenaline are produced. Well, after that you are supposed to drink champagne (it is a pity that there was no ordinary juice) and part with a part of your body - this is the rite of initiation into astronauts, balloonists. They decided to take pity on us and not take our legs, arms, and other organs away from us, but simply set our hair on fire.
Hot air balloon flight is coming to an end
The fields seem to be divorced
All the joyful ones jump out of the basket
All that's left of the big balloon
Reverse loading process
Champagne after flight
We give a part of ourselves
Here they are - gallant balloonists with certificates
leave us arms, legs, kidneys and other organs, and just set our hair on fire.
Some information about aeronautics
- Our flight lasted an hour, this is enough to understand what it is. In this flight, we climbed 520 meters. In general, balloons can rise to a height of 5000 meters.
- The ball is controlled by a gas burner, and can only rise up and down due to warm air, the rest (left / right) occurs at the behest of the wind, therefore, during long journeys, metrological forecasts are carefully studied and a tailwind is expected.
- Upstairs it is not cold at all, the burner is so warm that if you stand very close to the pilot, then it is better to put on a hat, otherwise he will bake. And the noise from it is such that it is not possible to talk (it does not burn constantly).
- Our balloon cost 55,000 euros, and balloons for real travel (there is a double shell with helium) are already under 2 million.
- To become a balloon pilot, you need to unlearn six months of courses and get a license.
- Every flight requires permission, you can't just fly.
- There is a zone G in the world - a free space where you can fly without notifying various services. The Moscow region is not included in this zone.
Minute video of our hot air balloon flight, even rather our landing. Since it is the most fun! FullHD video, so it's best to watch at maximum resolution.
