The Plano Balloon Festival
A very long time ago, in the Montgolfier home in rural France, the family laundry was drying by the fire when air trapped inside a silk nightgown caused the garment to float upwards. The surprise event got the attention of brothers Joseph and Jacques, who quickly figured out that not only does hot air rise, it has the potential to lift. By 1783, the two had gone on to invent and launch the world’s first passenger aircraft, the hot air balloon.
Their sensational discovery has long since been eclipsed in notoriety by the Wright Brothers, whose Wright Flyer has a slightly closer resemblance to the modern airplane. But I love the laundry story, which I read in the book, The Montgolfier Brothers and the Invention of Aviation by Charles Coulson Gillispie, because it is such a simple, whimsical addition to the centuries-old history of man’s quest to fly.
My balloon flight in Albuquerque in 2002
After arriving in Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport today on my way to Plano, Texas to attend this weekend’s Plano Balloon Festival, I got in the cab and pressed my face up against the window to watch a Qantas Boeing 747 coming in for a landing. Sure, that’s a nice way to travel. But is there a more beautiful form of transport than the hot air balloon? I’m saying, no.
My first flight in a hot air balloon was about nine years ago in Albuquerque. I got up before dawn to get to the launch area which was in the desert far out of town. Balloons only fly in the early morning and late evening. Other times of the day, the heat from the sun creates thermals that can make balloon flight unpredictable.
But there’s a whole experience to hot air balloons and it begins long before takeoff.
First, the colorful nylon part, called the envelope, is spread out on the ground and it’s humungous. Then, heat is forced in so that slowly and majestically the fabric comes to life.
Inflating the envelope is a show in itself
As the envelope inflates, the light from the burners causes the fabric to glow from within, turning the balloons into giant colored light bulbs. That they can fly becomes almost beside the point, they’re just so gosh darn gorgeous to see.
Plano Balloon Festival
I can just imagine that a field full of these balloons filling up and taking off is going to be a sensory extravaganza. Its a good thing, too because actually flying in a hot air balloon can be pricey. It costs $250 for a ride at the Plano Festival. Private balloon operators can charge $350 or more. Good thing that ballooning is one of those things that’s just as much fun from the ground as from the air.
The Plano Balloon Festival in a previous year
Author of The New York Times bestseller, The Crash Detectives, I am also a journalist, public speaker and broadcaster specializing in aviation and travel.
this is an experience that’s on my “life list” (sounds so much better than bucket list!)
Amazing write up .. I liked the style which mixes facts with experience and feeling 🙂 Good to see such articles!
Thank you Archana! Please keep reading and sharing your comments.