Isn't it cold up there?  It's about the same temperature as it is on the ground.  Sometimes it might even seem a little warmer because you generally feel less wind resistance when you are flying in a balloon.  That's because balloons travel with wind currents.  If you are in a balloon that is traveling in a wind current it doesn't seem as windy because you are moving with the wind.  Wind resistance is what makes the air temperature feel colder than it actually is.

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What should I bring?  Bring a camera!  Be sure your equipment has a sturdy strap - cameras (and other personal property) have been dropped overboard and, even though people thought they saw where their item landed, it's truly almost impossible to find something that's been dropped.  So, remember that YOU are responsible for your personal items and we won't replace or repair them for you.  What not to bring:  Baggage, valuables, pets, unattended children.  Beverages are not allowed in the balloons.

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Which flight should I choose, morning or evening?  Our recent observations indicate:

• In April, 75% of the flights flown were in the morning and 25% were flown in the evening.  Schedule a morning flight.

• In May, 60% of the flights flown were in the morning and 40% were flown in the evening.  Your best bet is to schedule a morning flight.

• June often brings us windy afternoons.  70% of the flights flown were in the morning and 30% were flown in the evening.  Definitely schedule in the morning. 

• Most of July has windy afternoons, too.  During the first three weeks of the month, 70% of the flights flown were in the morning so try to schedule morning flights during that time period; either flight after that.

• August is equally good for either flight!

• The weather starts changing in September.  During the first week, the morning and evening flights are generally like August flights - fairly equal in the number of launches.  After that, morning fog visits us regularly so you're going to want to schedule sunset flights.  On average, just over 30% of the flights flown in September are flown in the morning and about 70% of the flights are flown near sunset.  Our recommendation:  Schedule Sunset flights in September.

• October statistics are similar to September's.  33% of the flights were flown in the morning; 67% were flown at night.  Schedule Sunset flights in October. 

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Is ballooning safe?  It's been said that hot air ballooning is safer than driving a car or flying in an airplane.  However, as with any outdoor adventure, a certain element of risk is involved.  

• We are very proud of our perfect safety record. 

• Our pilots are FAA-licensed commercial pilots who have thousands of hours of experience flying hot air balloons. 

• The balloons are FAA-licensed and certified aircraft which are maintained to the same high standards of any commercially-flown aircraft.  

Your safety is our number one concern.

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What about bad weather?  Since your safety is our primary concern, we will not fly if we have rain, too much wind, or any other unfavorable condition, including nasty looking cloud formations, no matter what you say or how hard you try to talk us into flying.  If we have to cancel a flight, we'll try to have this information available for you about two hours before flight time.  Sometimes we may have to cancel a flight from the launch site if the wind isn't settling to our pilots' satisfaction.  If your flight is cancelled we'll ask you to reschedule.

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How high do we fly?  Flight altitude generally ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 feet, depending on wind directions and speeds available during the flight.  We may fly just inches off of the ground during part of the flight, and we may climb to 5,000 feet, it just depends on what Mother Nature has to offer at your flight time.  It's always different!

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Are there any age restrictions?  Yes.  Through experience we've found that younger children can't see over the basket and are usually scared by burner noise.  They often get bored, fast.  Upset children reduce the quality of the ballooning experience for other passengers and, since this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most people, we want the flight as comfortable as possible for everyone onboard.  Even though your child is probably very well-behaved, we prefer to play it safe and therefore do not fly children under the age of seven.  For liability reasons, we also do not allow unaccompanied children to ride in our chase vans.

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What happens once we get to Airial Balloon?  Prior to your arrival, our pilots have been busy collecting weather data.  You'll probably see them watching piballs (weather balloons) after you've checked in.  Once your pilot determines an appropriate launch site, you'll board our vans and be driven to the launch site.

What's a "piball?"  It's a weather balloon.  Piballs (short for pilot balloons) show us the local wind direction and wind speed at different altitudes.

I'm not flying, but can I watch or be a part of this?  Yes!  Non-flying guests can do everything the "flyers" do, except when the balloon passengers take off into the air, the non-flying guests board the chase rigs and follow on the ground.  We call these non-flying guests "chasers."  Chasers are there for the launch, and travel in the chase vehicles with the balloon ground crew.  They're there for the balloon retrieval, and take part in the post-flight celebration, too.  The fee is $25 per person.  We appreciate advance notice of non-flying guests so we can be sure to have enough food and beverages on hand.

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Are there any physical limitations or considerations?  When you schedule your flight, please inform us of any knee, leg, hip, or back problems you have, or if there are any other physical impairments that you think we should know about.  We also need to know about any recent surgical procedures, pregnancy, frailty, or any physical condition that could affect your well-being during flight.  These things won't necessarily bar you from ballooning, but our pilots need to know about things like this in case a situation arises where they need to take special care of you.  Ballooning is safe, but it's considered a sport and may place some physical demands on the participant.  By the way:

• We prefer not to fly pregnant women.

• Our balloon baskets are not wheelchair accessible.

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