Hot Air Ballooning has to be a pretty relaxed way of passing time. We wanted to know how you get involved in this mysterious and peaceful adventure sport, so we asked someone in the know, Mike Bauwens. Ooh managed to seize him by his anchor rope for a chat as he made final preparations for a flight in Mexico.
Mike got involved in ballooning in 1974, attracted to the sport by the excitement it created for ‘generations of spectators’. He learnt to fly in ‘Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the home of the balloon manufacturing plant, Raven Industries.’
We asked Mike what time of day was his favorite for hitting the skies and he explained: ‘It is important the pilot control the balloon and not the environment. The morning and evening are the only periods of the day that the winds are not driven by thermal activity. I prefer evenings because more people are out to enjoy the spectacle. Mornings, however, tend to offer more stable flying conditions.’
In a thirst for adventure, we wanted to know about the best and worst moments Mike had experienced at the helm of one of these awesome vessels: ‘landing at 45mph perpendicular to the North/South Runway at Anchorage International.’ Now, we’re not prudish here at Ooh, but that sounds pretty frightening.
His best experiences included: ‘hovering in the lee of Tall Mountain, Utah, talking with climbers on a vertical wall, or flying over the town of Laughlin, Nevada, then dropping the basket softly in the river and floating back to the launch point.’
‘To many, sharing a tranquil hour in the air with friends with the traditional post flight champagne celebration is the real draw.’
So, given that this sport consists of drifting on wind currents suspended beneath a bag of hot air, we figured there must be a pretty technical side to it, right? Well it turns out there isn’t really – ‘It’s not difficult but it requires a kinetic “feel” to excel,’ explains Mike, ‘and it requires good judgment and a sound thought process. If you end up in a bad landing area, your mistake was made ½ hour ago.’
Mike can teach you how to fly a balloon, and we wanted to know where he would start with a novice: ‘I’d teach them the logic that’s necessary to stay out of trouble. I can also teach them aggressive, but safe performance maneuvers.’
Mike’s got a great website, which you can see at www.aeronaut.com and tells us that his online presence means half the people he ends up teaching are from all quarters of the globe. So if you’re interested in an internationally friendly balloon extravaganza, why not drop him an email?
