Comments (13)

1. For the polar bear, I think it would be okay as long as there were weights in the other three paws to balance everything out, but I’m no hot air balloon engineer

   posted by Yams on 8-31-2010 at 12:11 pm

2. I live in Albuquerque, NM and we have an annual Hot Air Balloon Fiesta where there are thousands of hot air balloons in several different shapes. They have bears, cows, the Disney castle, a chile ristra, bumble bees, even Jesus some years. It’s very possible to fly with shapes like a polar bear and so much fun to see! If you ever get a chance to come to Albuquerque, it’s a great opportunity. You can get right up close to the balloons, and usually if you crew for a balloon, you can get a free ride. It’s in October and it’s fantastic!

   posted by Jackie O. on 8-31-2010 at 12:57 pm

3. I also live in Albuquerque and the Special Shapes portion of the Balloon Fiesta is amazing!
   http://www.balloonfiesta.com

   posted by James H on 8-31-2010 at 1:47 pm

4. “But please, no mylar balloons. They never deflate and I don’t have the heart to throw them away.”

   posted by Stacy on 8-31-2010 at 2:10 pm

5. Like the people that live in Albuquerque, I live in Reno and our balloon festival is coming up in two weekends (Sept 10, 11, and 12). It is amazing to see.
   Because these are all hot air balloons, you don’t steer them, you just go where the wind takes you. Although, a good pilot can figure out the different layers of wind and can kind of “steer” with that. I highly recommend a ride if you ever get the chance. Amazing.

   posted by Kimberley on 8-31-2010 at 2:28 pm

6. You’ve got the basic idea by saying hot air balloon. In the same way that a steel ship doesn’t sink since it displaces an amount of water equal to or greater than it’s weight, a hot air balloon rises by displacing colder air around it. Once that point is reached, the shape of the container doesn’t make much difference because; as was pointed out by Kimberly you go in the direction of the stream of the air layer that you’re in. Of course, it your balloon is so huge that you sit in two different layers, then it gets to be a bit interesting. This is the same problem faced by a number of politicans trying to ride the ever changing popular opinion.

   posted by Prism on 8-31-2010 at 3:41 pm

7. Pretty much everything has been said, but here in an interesting article about flying hot-air balloons during the Balloon Fiesta. Hopefully it’ll answer some questions. I recently moved away from ABQ, come early Oct. I going to be homesick.

   http://www.theweatherprediction.com/weatherpapers/107/index.html

   posted by Stephanie on 8-31-2010 at 4:11 pm

8. I’ve lived in Albuquerque for 21 years. Here is another article that may help answer your questions.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque_International_Balloon_Fiesta

   posted by Mitch on 8-31-2010 at 7:32 pm

9. I have seen a polar bear balloon. It could not be flown if the wind speed was too high. We have a festival where I live, but we only get hundreds of balloons.

   posted by gus on 9-1-2010 at 5:00 am

10. Growing up in Battle Creek, MI (the Midwest hot air balloon alternative to Albuquerque; its always been a pretty big festival) I have seen some of these over the years, and they are quite difficult in some cases to control. as size increases, the is an almost inverse relationship to controllability in the wind. The are more susceptible to smaller shifts in wind than their “standard” shaped counterparts.

    I don’t know if its still in use, but there used to be a really cool Mr. Peanut shaped Balloon – that sucker was TALL!

    Flossy note – there are teams called “chasers” which are generally a team of 4-8 people that follow the balloon in a van and help take the balloon down when it lands. They are also the team that helps fill up the balloon with air when it gets pulled out. My dad and stepmom have done it for years, and I have had the opportunity to participate on a few occasions as a kid. It’s really quite impressive.

    posted by Justin L on 9-1-2010 at 10:19 am

11. Correction to my above comment –

    I meant to add their ability o be controlled is harder while inflating and in the earlier stages of flight. Getting them off the ground can be a bit more difficult. Once their in the air, most folks are right, its pretty easy-cheesy after that. Getting them down can cause issues though,as they sometimes do need a little more space to land (obviously)

    posted by Justin L on 9-1-2010 at 10:23 am

12. The basket containing passengers, propane, and the burner assembly is always suspended below the center of gravity, so there is no risk of a balloon like that shifting. I’ve actually crewed for the polar bear balloon once in California. I believe it is associated with Klondike ice cream bars or some such thing. Wind shear between air layers moving in different directions isn’t typically substantial enough to affect these balloons, plus the rip-stop nylon from which they are constructed is pretty tough stuff. The tricky part comes down to landing in even moderate wind. Pilots will sometimes stuff (plant the basket down with sufficient force while rapidly deflating the envelope ((balloon)) ) the landing so that they don’t get dragged all over the place. But when you have the basket on the ground anchoring the balloon with a deflating bag upwards of 200,000 cu. ft. acting as a sail, even a 10 mph wind can drag the whole mess into trees, buildings, etc but the same can happen regardless of the envelope shape.

    posted by Nick on 9-1-2010 at 3:48 pm

13. I crewed for the tallest shape balloon – the Energizer Bunny “Hot Hare” Balloon – for several years, and flew in it several times. The shaped balloons have some unique challenges due to their size and shape, but as others have said above, have no trouble standing, flying, and landing. The hard stuff is finding a place big enough to land and free of trees/powerlines, and packing the darned things up! :)

    posted by Kate on 9-1-2010 at 10:18 pm

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