Last Updated on
Have you ever try a hot air balloon ride adventure? Hot air balloon is a weather-dependent activity. Before a hot air balloon can be launched, the pilot must always first check the weather. Weather factors such as wind speed and direction, visibility, rain and storms, etc should be taken into consideration to protect passengers and crew safety.
Sometimes even when the weather appears good, a flight may be canceled because harsh weather is expected to come in 30 minutes or an hour later. The balloon pilot needs to make sure that there will be good weather during the whole flight experience, which could be be one to two hours long.
Factors affecting hot air balloon flight:
Wind
Wind is one of the biggest factor affecting hot air balloon flight since it will affect the stability and direction in which the balloon will fly to. Hot air balloons fly best in stable and light winds between four to six miles an hour. As the balloon fly with the wind, the pilot needs to start finding a suitable landing spot. It is important to monitor the wind speed and direction along the flight. If there is a strong wind, it can cause the balloon to fly over to unwanted areas such as urban area, beach, park, etc and it will be more difficult to find a safe landing area. In contrast, if there is only little wind, the balloon will not travel far.
Visibility
Visibility is also very important in flying hot air balloons. If there is a fog and interrupt the pilot’s visibility, it can be dangerous.The pilots need to see between one to three miles.
Rains and storms
Unlike airplane, balloon ride can not fly away from rain or storms, that’s why there is no balloon ride in rainy or stormy weather as it brings a serious safety concerns. Hot air balloon needs to maintain a certain hot temperature in order for it to keep afloat in the air. Rains cools down the hot air inside which makes the balloon harder to control.
Safety is the first priority when flying, take your wind monitoring to the next level with Scarlet Wireless Anemometer. We accept customization, email us your requirements now.
Hot air balloon flight is a weather-dependent experience. The decision whether to fly or not largely depends on the weather condition. Protect passengers and crew safety. Get real time wind speed, direction, air temperature, and pressure using industrial-grade wireless anemometer.
