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Last Updated: Monday April 03 2006 06:09 GMT

Hot air ballooning is amazing!

Press Packer Fiona
Press Packer Fiona loves hot air balloons and enjoys flying in the basket as well as chasing her Dad's balloon from the ground.

Here she tells us how it feels to head up into the sky and why she hopes to fly her own balloon when she's older.

"I get to fly in hot air balloons a lot because my Dad's a hot air balloon pilot. He loves to fly whenever he can and I get to fly with him in his four man hot air balloon.

Being up in a hot air balloon is difficult to describe - I think it feels like a mix between being in an aeroplane and looking down at a huge map!

Crews and equipment

To fly and crew a four man hot air balloon you need one fully trained pilot and three crew members.

There are three main parts to a hot air balloon - the basket, the envelope and the crown line.

The basket is the wicker box that the pilot and passengers stand in.

The envelope is the big piece of material which fills up with air, it's attached onto the basket with thick metal wire.

The crown line is the line attached to the top end of the envelope. A member of the crew holds the other end to help steady the balloon and to stop it flying off when you're not ready.

Tracking from the ground
Press Packer Fiona in her Dad's hot air balloon

My brother and I are usually the crew, my Dad is always the pilot.

The crew are in charge of the van - we keep all our equipment in the van and use it to transport the pilot and the balloon.

We also use it to chase the balloon once it's up in the air so that we know where it will land.

You navigate or manage the radio in the van.

I enjoy controlling the radio the most as I can talk to my Dad as well as any other balloon in the country that's up in the sky.

Keeping safe

Although there's no safety gear, you can't wear jeans or baggy trousers and the pilot must wear a special flying suit and a hat.

We must be careful not to touch the gas tanks or gear.

It's also important to remember that the wicker basket is the only thing that stands in between you and the ground, so you shouldn't mess about.

Flying high
The hot air balloon

We normally fly in our local area, often from friends' fields.

Flying is so cool because it's so different. People come out of their homes to wave at you if you're in the basket.

When you're up in the sky you can see strange buildings, animals grazing in fields and everyday life carrying on.

When I grow older I definitely want to own and fly a hot air balloon."

Fiona, 11, Staffordshire


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