Hot Air Ballooning in Birmingham, Alabama

Hot air ballooning is the oldest form of aviation but until recenly it was not available in Alabama. Air Alabama is a commercial hot air balloon tour and promotion company operating in Alabama. I recently experienced my first hot air balloon ride. I was invited the day before by one of the crew members to participate with the balloon set up. So we all arrived before sunrise the next day to set up the balloon for an early morning departure. I asked the pilot why such an early flight and he told me that early mornings and late afternoons were usually less windy and that made for better ballooning conditions. The pilot coached me as I helped with the set up. The balloon only took thirty minutes or so to set up.

Within minutes of the fan starting this massive structure came to life. Yellow, red, orange and purple rectangles formed the concentric diamond patterns on this balloon named, “Southern Sunrise”. When the balloon became fully filled everyone piled into the balloon and with a blast of flame we were instantly lifted off the ground. This type of flight is so different from any other that I have experienced. The take-off was so quiet and calm. If you compare it to the ground roll and thrust exerted from a conventional aircraft the difference is quite dramatic. We eventually made it up to about 2000 feet. While your at altitude the only sounds were people talking and the occasional flame blast from the burner. It was truly peaceful up there drifting with the wind like a bird. The veiw was by far the most incredible part about the flight. The colors of autumn and the clear cloudless day made for a most beautiful scene.

Towards the end of the flight as the pilot began to look for a place to land he started loosing altitude for an approach to land. Dogs on the ground could see us coming and they began barking. People on the ground could see us very well and starting pointing and waving to us. The pilot put us down nice and easy just like when we took off. The flight took just over an hour. We landed near a residential construction site. The nearby construction workers came running over to us. They were really nice guys and they helped us pack up the balloon. One construction guy told us “I thought santa clause had done come early this year”. The chase vehicle and the rest of the crew arrived shortly there after and we had the balloon packed away in 15 minutes. We were all excited about what we had just done and everyone agreed it was a truly unforgetable experience!

The day was not over yet, the pilot gathered everyone around and gave everyone a little history lesson about ballooning. The short version goes like this: the first ever recorded flight was in a hot air balloon on November 21, 1783 in France. So the first French ballooners were afraid that they may be mistaken for for aliens when they landed. So they decided to carry a bottle of champagne because everyone knows that champagne comes from France. So, their logic went like this, if they had champagne that meant they had to be from France as well. Anyway at that time the pilot being finished with his flying duties for the day brought out a bottle of sparkling wine and poured a tiny glass for everyone that was there even the construction guys! A perfect toast to end a perfect day. If you would like to learn more about ballooning in general, see photographs or even go for a ride yourself check out Air Alabama’s web site airalabama.com