Hot air balloon flight in Lorraine

Here we are at daybreak (6am) at the aero club of Mortagne, located in the small town of Mont-sur-Meurthe. Time to take some strength to start the day and we join the rest of the people who chose to fly with us, as well as two important people: the pilot of the aircraft, and his assistant on the ground.

After a few polite exchanges, we were each assigned by the pilot to help him as best we could with the preparation of the balloon. Once the gondola was lowered from the trailer, the pilot took the time to explain our respective positions during the flight, as well as the position to adopt in case of a too "sporty" landing.

The instructions being given, we lay down the basket on the side. The pilot and his assistant then proceed to spread out the envelope on the ground lengthwise. We divide ourselves in two groups to unfold it in the direction of the width this time.

Once again, two teams are formed. The strongest are given the mission to pull a rope connected to the parachute (the top of the balloon). This is to help the balloon inflate properly. The other team has the mission to open the mouth of the balloon so that a huge fan can get a maximum of air into it.

Then comes the moment when the 6000m³ envelope contains enough air at room temperature for the pilot to start heating it with the burners. I was part of the team in charge of fighting against the suction effect during the inflation.

I can't explain to you how the first heat strokes were felt. With each impulse, the balloon rises more and more, and it becomes more and more impossible to resist to the point that each person is forced to let go of the rope one after the other, until only the last person is left, whose mission is to bring it back to the pilot once the balloon is completely upright, from the top of its 30 meters.

The pilot then invites us to take turns climbing into the basket, in a precise order. Once everyone is on board, the pilot heats the air more and more until he reaches the point of equilibrium between the weight of the basket and its occupants, and the weight of the hot air (thanks Archimedes). This is a sign for him that the conditions are good, and that the balloon will be able to take height with all the occupants on board.

An additional throttle, and here we are leaving the ground, very gently.

During one hour we advance, carried by the wind, at an altitude of 500m. Our pilot alternates burner strokes to keep a constant altitude. An important thing to note at this time: the heat is intense near the burners at each gas stroke, and it is relatively noisy. Once we are "used to it", we start to enjoy the view and the quietness that comes with it.

Since we are carried by the wind, we do not feel it. It is a very surprising sensation.

During our journey, we attract the attention of the animals on the ground. We can observe cows, hares and hinds sleeping or gamboling quietly.

Arrived not far from the city of Bayon, our pilot begins to consider the landing, and starts to look for a sufficiently clear zone so that we can land safely.

The wind being tricky, and having no real way to direct us on board, we are forced to wait for the right moment to lose a little altitude. As such, the pilot only has the possibility to make the balloon go up, to make it go down, or to make it turn on itself.

A few more minutes pass by until a field appears in front of us. The pilot makes us skim the tops of the trees, and makes us lose the little altitude left so that we can land smoothly, under the amazed eyes of a walker. As the crow flies (or as the balloon flies, depending on the point of view), we have covered ~15km.

One person is designated to take the rope connected to the top of the balloon, and go as far as possible into the field pulling on it to help the sail fall in the right place, spread out as best as possible. We take turns joining her to bring strength as the balloon loses its hot air. At the same time the basket is tilted to the side again.

The pilot's assistant then joins us, after having had a little trouble finding our field. The pilot again shows us the steps to put everything away. We start by stirring up the residual air along the length of the canopy, then we put it back in its carrying bag. Then we load the bag and the basket on the trailer.

Once the tidying up operation is over, it's time for comfort. The pilot then takes out of the car a cooler containing a bottle of champagne, some flutes and some boudoirs. He then offers us the glass of the aeronaut.

We take advantage of this moment to debrief about our flight, and ask him a lot of questions which I have answered throughout this article. It is also at this moment that we receive our personal certificates of ascent, proof that we have each shown courage and cold blood during the flight. The adventure ends after our return by vehicle to our place of departure.

I hope to have taken you with me through this experience, which will leave me with a very nice memory! One thing is a bit sad though, it's that the tendency of our climate to get warmer and warmer makes the flight slots more and more rare, which will eventually make this activity unfeasible.

So if you feel like taking the plunge, don't wait too long, because the years are obviously numbered.