how are hot-air balloons navigated?
In: Engineering
You need a good knowledge of meteorology so you can make observations and predict the way the winds travel at different altitudes. A lot of times wind might go around mountains and other terrain features or you might have different air layers with different winds so the air can move in different directions at different altitudes. An experienced balloon pilot will be able to predict these different winds or just experiment though them and find the right altitude where the winds take him where he needs to go. But if you are under the impression that a hot air balloon can travel in any direction the pilot wants you are mistaken. The level of control is enough to land it safely but in order to get where you are going you need to pay attention to the weather forecast beforehand and pick a take off spot carefully so that the wind actually take you there. But this is perfectly fine for sight seeing tours and such.
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