What to Expect

We fly at sunrise

Why so early? Good question! It's all about he wind. The sun heats the earth at different rates. Where it gets really hot, we get a rising column of hot air. That's a thermal. Since we don't live in vacuum, wherever the warm air is rising, cooler air comes in below to replace it. That's thermally generated wind! Since we need the winds to be less than 7 mph, it's almost always just too windy to fly in the middle of the day. And since we don't have thermals overnight, the morning hours are the calmest. So, sunrise is the safest time of day to fly a hot air balloon.

Arrival time is just before sunrise (somewhere around 6am). You'll have enough time to use the bathroom and grab a cup of coffee. Next, we need about 10 minutes to give you a flight briefing. Then we inflate the balloons and go!

Getting into the basket

Ballooning is a sport and as such, a certain amount of agility is required. The sides of the basket are about 3 1/2 feet high. There are foot holes in the basket. You put a foot in the hole and climb on into the basket. If you have any concerns about being able to get in and out of the basket, let us know. We can usually work something out!

In Flight

This is the easiest part. I tell people, if you can stand still and breathe, you can do this! There's no sense of movement in the basket. Unlike an airplane, we are not affected by air pockets. Just enjoy the ride as the earth passes below! A typical flight will take us up to 1500 feet. If conditions are right, we'll fly higher! Every day is different, and every flight is awesome! Our flight area is the Lower Hudson Valley. We launch from Middletown NY and go which ever way the wind is blowing. Our chase crew follows from below, waiting for us to land. And where do we land? We won't know until we get there! But not to worry, we'll find a lovely field to settle down. I've been flying since 1986 and I haven't left one up there yet!