[ELI5] how do hot air balloons even work? How do they know where they’re going without steering?
In: 846
So the balloons get laid out on the ground and fans fill them with air to get them in the right shape, with the basket laying on its side. They turn on the burners which shoot fire into an opening in the bottom, and as the air in the balloon gets hotter it gets less dense so it wants to rise, and pulls the balloon with it. Once it’s standing up, more fire = more up, and you just sorta wait and let it cool off to get closer to the ground. You also have a rope you can pull to let air out of the top to fall faster, and some of the special shaped balloons have ropes that you can pull to turn the balloon (not steering, just to make it face a different direction). You mostly go where the wind takes you, but good pilots (with predictable weather) can go up and down to catch wind in different directions. You have radios to talk to a ground crew who are driving on roads to follow you and meet you when you land.
Latest Answers