The ballooning ebook

Humans conquered the skies with balloons. But there is something mysterious about balloons: are they really just toys of the wind, or can they be steered? Not directly, but indirectly by exploiting different wind currents. Modern wind forecasting techniques complement the pilot's intuition. A balloonist needs a deep understanding of the atmosphere and the laws governing the processes that take place within it. The troposphere is their playground. Balloon flight has many facets: commercial passenger transport for tourist purposes, advertising, leisure activities and sporting competitions. Almost everyone has seen a hot air balloon, but the much rarer gas balloons are hardly noticed. Yet they have been ruling the skies alongside birds for almost two centuries. And they are the longest-lasting mass-produced aircraft: they can stay in the air for over a hundred hours without landing. Such flights differ from ocean-going voyages in the same way that inland waterway transport differs from coastal shipping. This ballooning eBook aims to explain how it all works and how it is done. The author of the book, Volker Löschhorn, is himself an active balloon pilot and flight instructor. He is also active in the sport and has been German champion in gas ballooning several times. Here he shares his extensive experience mainly in text form, supplemented with a few illustrations. The book is aimed at those who are curious about balloon flights. But even experienced balloonists can discover something new – I promise!