Up, up and away
The gentle pursuit of hot air ballooning is now available in Paphos
The Montgolfier brothers did it first in 1783. Initially playing safe, they enlisted the help of a sheep, a duck and a chicken for their experimental eight minute balloon flight – lucky for the farm animals, all were returned to earth safely (if a little startled), proving that animals could indeed survive higher and headier climes.
Many further trials and tribulations followed, these centring on the manner in which the balloon could rise from the ground and so stay afloat. One enterprising chap decided that in order to obtain the necessary ‘lift’ he would burn a combination of straw and horse manure in an attached fire pit hung over his wicker basket. Needless to say, this particularly bizarre concept was found to be somewhat dangerous, and although no records exist as to where the burning basket and flaming balloon landed up, no doubt the aeronaut then went and set ablaze a good few acres of countryside.
It was hardly surprising then that hot air was soon replaced by gas, and the spherical helium or hydrogen balloons became popular.
Only in the last thirty years with the development of heat resistant fabrics has ballooning become a practical option. Modern hot air balloons are now made from the same material as racing driver’s overalls and ballooning is now claimed to be the safest form of flying, but it was hard not to feel a teeny bit apprehensive when we were invited by the Paphos-based Ikaros Balloon Company to ‘come fly’ with them.
In a cool, deserted field somewhere near Polemi, dawn started to break and as the morning mist rose around us as, we watched as the balloon was inflated. This part of the operation is fascinating as the five-man team manhandle 80,000 cubic feet of deflated balloon (and three kilometres of stitching), lying it on the ground while a huge hot air fan blows air into the mouth of the envelope. The wicker basket is attached, then everybody leaps in and we were off, up and away, trying not to remember we are relying entirely upon nothing more than nylon, wicker and basic physics, which dictate that warmer air rises in cooler air and hot air is lighter than cool air.
Our pilot Wout Bakker (call sign The Flying Dutchman), a highly-experienced balloonist,was reassuringly ex air force trained and an expert when it comes to the workings of not only the balloon but all important air traffic control and critical weather patterns. This, after all, was the man selected out of 1,400 volunteers to fly round the world in 14 days at heights of between 20,000 and 30,000 feet, so we all felt quite safe as he raised us smoothly up to an acceptable height of 2,000 to 2,500ft, and, it seemed not to be the balloon that was moving but it was as if the earth was sinking down and away from us.
Much of the sense of safety depends on the actual size of the basket. We were in one capable of taking 12 people including the pilot and, as the height of the basket was well above the body’s centre of gravity, you are not going to fall out by accident. You can easily relax, leaning elbows on the corner of the basket as you stare straight down without any sensation of vertigo or rising alarm to enjoy the entire rather wonderful experience.
From our floating perch, the fields below made weird abstract patterns and trees cast improbably long shadows as we gently glided past, occasionally coming in lower to some areas you feel you could stretch out and easily grab a few almonds from a tree or two. Hovering over the villages, the pilot used the ‘cow burner’ this gives off a slightly lower noise level when firing up the balloon, an essential environmental tool in rural areas as Wout informed us that the sound of the prime burner does indeed affect cows’ milk yields and has been known to throw pigs into a heart attack. So we ‘cowed’ along, waking up only tethered dogs and no doubt putting a few chicken off their laying.
Steering clear of all power lines (the only big worry for balloonists after dramatic wind changes) we glided gracefully for about an hour becoming more and more mesmerised by the peace and tranquillity, the only noise being the sudden bursts of propane gas. Neither do you feel the wind nor is it cooler up there – in a word, it’s just ‘fantastic’ and now I know why its considered to be one of the experiences listed in the book Fifty Things To Do Before You Die.
I thought the balloon would take off and land in the same place, wrong! Balloons don’t have the same control mechanisms as say a plane, the balloonist spends about one hour in the air and must then have sufficient gas to glide around for another hour (maximum) in order to find a convenient and safe spot to land. Wout always plans to land in fields free of any crops, so there we were with the prospect of the inevitable impromptu landing but at least it was one that didn’t include being party to massacring a poor farmer’s cabbage crop.
Landing in a balloon does not allow one the luxury of the pilot announcing ahead of time his intentions so there is no ‘please fasten your safety belts we will be landing in twenty minutes’ type instructions.
We were told from the off that the cute rope handles inside the basket were our landing aids, to be held onto, at the same time get down onto the floor of the basket bend our knees, and so brace ourselves against the wickerwork.
Wout suddenly spots a tempting field and with about eight seconds warning we all disappeared down onto the floor and braced, landing with what is euphemistically described as a ‘short drag’. The basket dragging across the tops of bushes, then onto the stubble surface ‘dragging’ for a short time until the basket gently tipped over and we were down safe and sound, it was all accompanied by a great deal of laughter as folk emerged rather inelegantly from their section of the basket, some with bits of branches and greenery adorning their hair.
Throughout the entire time we were airborne, the Ikaros support chase team followed us on the ground and were in constant radio contact throughout. It’s essential they are always there upon landing as pure muscle power is required to hold the basket fast and prevent the balloon taking off again – no anchors are supplied on a hot air balloon. Then, it was the hard task of folding away the balloon, a bit like rolling up a giant sleeping bag, the basket and balloon was loaded into the truck and we repaired to the edge of the field where a Land Rover doubled as a very welcome coffee, juice and champagne pit stop. Everyone left proudly clutching the certificate confirming their daring deed and, as we drove back to our collection point, every single one of the 11 passengers, spanning an age gap from 16 to 65 years, was eager to go back up there and relish what was, after all, a genuine and exceedingly joyful lifetime experience.
To book a balloon trip contact the Thomas Cook office in Paphos. Tel: 26 840200. £99 per person. Only for over 14s. There is a strict height restriction of 3.5ft min and obviously those who are a circumferentially challenged would find it a touch cramped floating inside what is basically a large but very solid picnic basket.
l On September 19, 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster become the first passengers in a hot air balloon launched by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Ettienne for a royal demonstration at the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
l On November 21, 1783, the first recorded manned flight was piloted by the French physicist Jean Francs Pilce de Rozier and his companion, the Marquis D’Arlandes. This balloon, which was also built by the Montgolfier brothers, and rose to about 500 feet and. Travelling approximately five miles across Paris in a flight that lasted 22 minutes. (While the balloon did catch fire before landing, both passengers were unharmed.)
l French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard
and American John Jeffries become the first to fly across the English Channel in 1785. (Earlier that year de Rozier died an hour into his flight in his attempt to across the channel.)
l In the US Civil War, WWI, and WWII hot air balloons were used as tools of warfare, for transportation surveying, and for communication
l In 1987 Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson fly the first hot air balloon across the Atlantic. They travel a distance of 2,900 miles in 33 hours to set a new record for hot air ballooning
l The largest hot air balloon festival is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which is held each October in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This event was started in 1972 with just 13 balloons attending. In 2000, it recorded 1,019 balloons in attendance
l During the 1800’s, almost all balloons were filled with hydrogen or coal gas and were principally used for public displays, and by scientists and soldiers
l Today balloons are used primarily for two purposes: sport or scientific research
l Publisher Malcolm Forbes began his collection of nine special shaped hot air balloons with a version of a chateau he owned in France. He also owned hot air balloons shaped as a Harley-Davidson motorcycle 200 feet long, a bust of Beethoven bigger than any face on Mount Rushmore, and a towering copy of the Financial Times