Giant Hot Air Balloon Glides Silently Over Chico

by Jack Lee

Yesterday in the cold morning air an unknown balloonist glided his hot air balloon silently over Chico.   

The huge red and yellow balloon was riding along in an invisible current of air at about 5-7 mph.   At it’s estimated altitude over 1000′ the craft clould be seen for miles.    When this picture was taken the balloon was about to fly over the Sierra Nevada brewery on 20th Street in Chico.  

If you look closely you can see at least two occupants peering over the side.    You can gauge it’s enormous size compared to the barely visible passengers.  

Hot air balloons like this one are steered by changing altitude to catch currents of air that separated by temperature and often flow in different directions.  Sometimes when the air is just right a low altitude flight  will take you one direction and a higher altitude can reverse your course.   But, a fair amount of fate often determines  where the balloon ends its voyage.  

The flight is almost silent, except for the occassional blast from the propane burner that injects heated air into the canopy.   In order to lift a 1000 pounds it generally requires about 65,000 cubic feet of trapped air.  A self sealing flap on the top of the balloon allows the hot air to escape to provide a controlled decent. 

The first flight of a hot air balloon dates back to September 19, 1783, in Versailles, a Montgolfiere hot air balloon carrying a sheep, a rooster, and a duck flew for eight minutes in front of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the French court.

On October 15, 1783, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes were the first human passengers on a Montgolfiere balloon. The balloon was in free flight, meaning it was not tethered.

On January 19, 1784, a huge Montgolfiere hot air balloon carried seven passengers to a height of 3,000 feet over the city of Lyons.