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Cameron Balloons

Cameron Hot Air Balloon

A hot air balloon: a form of flight with no chosen heading, managed only through altitude.

Cameron Hot Air Balloon — Balloon
4028mdk09 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cameron Hot Air Balloon — Balloon
mattbuck (category) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cameron Hot Air Balloon — Balloon
mattbuck (category) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Overview

A hot air balloon takes its lift not from a wing but from a temperature difference. Heated air inside the envelope is lighter than the cold air around it, so the craft rises; the burner is the only control.

Directional control is not directly possible. The pilot changes only altitude and uses winds blowing different ways at different heights; the route is built by reading layers of air.

That removes flight from the realm of the plannable: a landing point cannot be chosen with certainty. Ballooning's reliance on a ground crew is therefore a technical necessity rather than a tradition.

Details

Brand
Cameron Balloons
Category
Balloon
Body
Hot air balloon
Propulsion
brulor
Produced
1971–