Weather for ballooning
Ideal
- Nice weather
- No rainfall
- Wind on the ground below 8 knots (15km/h)
Unsuitable
- Rrecipitation (rain/snow
- Wind
- Fog
- Low clouds
- Thunderstorms within a radius of 50km
- Thermal
Times of day for balloon flights
April-September
- Balloon rides are only possible on the edge of the day
- 3 hours before sunset
- 1 hour before sunrise
October-March
Balloon rides are possible during the whole day.
Reference book
Thermals are created when different surfaces heat up to different degrees (solar radiation). This causes warm air bubbles to form, which eventually rise at high speed and would take the balloon up with them. Downdrafts force it to the ground a moment later and horizontal gusts deform the envelope, causing it to lose additional lift.
In the evening and morning hours, the sunlight is weak and the air temperature is even, so there are no thermals.
If thunderstorms are forecast, ballooning is generally prohibited. The balloon is like a plaything between the air masses. The strong up and down winds caused by a thunderstorm compress the balloon envelope, the hot air escapes from the envelope and the balloon loses its load-bearing capacity and sinks. The influence of a thunderstorm can be felt up to 50 km. At Holly Ballon AG, the safety of our guests is our top priority, so please understand that we will not take off in such weather conditions.
If the cloud cover is closed and low (e.g. 500m above ground), the day feels gray and unfriendly. Visibility is very poor. The mountains and hilltops are shrouded in cloud. The balloonist's view is obstructed when he wants to float over the hilltops. It is therefore not possible to take a balloon flight in such conditions.
Fog has the property that you can hardly see your hand in front of your eyes. Taking off from the fog, floating above the fog cover, is an incredibly beautiful experience. If the fog does not clear by the time you land, the landing becomes a gamble with life. No visibility in the fog. When landing, you can see the power lines, houses, church towers, railroad lines, etc. NOT. You don't take off in such conditions.
One of the most important factors for the balloonist is the wind. In the air, wind speeds of 80 km/h are not a major problem, as we go with the wind, i.e. we are in the air mass - there is no wind in the balloon basket. However, even 15 km/h is difficult to cope with at take-off. The envelope of a balloon, which is between 1000-2000m2 in size and has a capacity of 5-8000m3, offers the wind so much surface area to attack that the balloon cannot be tamed at high wind speeds.
The balloon cover, made of nylon or polyester, absorbs the rainwater, the cover becomes almost twice as heavy, so that the balloon can no longer take off due to its own excessive weight.
Temperature only plays a role in ballooning in terms of gas consumption. The DIFFERENCE between the air temperature and the temperature in the balloon envelope must be between 50°C and 60°C, depending on the weight in the balloon basket, for the balloon to float up into the sky. If the air is cool, for example 0 °C, the pilot needs less gas to heat the air in the envelope to approx. 50 °C so that the balloon lifts off the ground.
However, if the air temperature is warm, for example 30 °C, the pilot needs more gas at take-off, but also during the entire flight, in order to heat the air in the envelope to approx. 90 °C. At Holly Ballon AG, it is standard practice for the pilot to calculate the exact gas consumption before the start of the flight and also to carry a spare cylinder on board in case he cannot find a suitable landing site and has to continue.