Makeshift hot air balloon pops 10,000 feet up in China
Hell to the no.
While some may have a desire to drift away like that, I can’t imagine anything much more terrifying. I remember when Kings Island was very young they had a hot air balloon that would launch every afternoon from the front gate. (Weather permitting) They would hold a raffle for two lucky riders to go on the flight. I always put my name in, (not sure why) and then secretly prayed that I wouldn’t win. I never did, thank goodness, because I don’t know what I would’ve done.
In other news, at this year’s Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, two riders were injured when they were bounced out during a bad landing. Then that same balloon caught fire later. Ugh.
Going up in a hot air balloon with a trained pilot with proper equipment is very much different than the makeshift balloon in that article. Didn't look like they had a way of regulating altitude. Not sure how they expected that to end well.
I have done two flights. First was with my wife for our first anniversary. Didn't tell her we were going until we got to the launch site because I thought she would back out. Second was with my dad for father's day a couple years after my son was born. Both were with FAA licensed pilots. Had all the necessary equipment. In a basket not strapped into two seats like in the video. Had chase crews for each. Same company both times but different pilot. Second was less conservative. Flew us over treetops with basket dragging against the leaves/branches. Little freaky to feel basket tip when you are 50+ feet off the ground. But totally felt safe. Would go again.
Much like Powered Parachutes, the ideas of everything that can go wrong really scare me off the idea of hot air balloons.
And this homemade contraption? Forget it!
Everyone knows that blowing up and attaching thousands of balloons to your house is the only way to go.
Makeshift attraction with no safety features put together by untrained, underpaid workers malfunctions and injures people? In China? No WAY!
Hi
When you have 1.3 Billion people, what’s a couple here and there? And I only say that partly in jest. I seriously believe that influences the lack of regulation. (Also, most of them are poor)
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
No way I'd set foot in any hot air balloon. When I was in the 2nd grade remember we had these classrooms with a giant bay of windows overlooking the sports field. We were in class and hot air balloon crash landed in the sports field. We all got up and ran to the windows to watch and totally ignored the teacher screaming at us to return to our desks. There were serious injuries and the passengers were taken away in an ambulance and remember one being fairly bloody. So there's my bizarre childhood trauma experience. While pretty to look at, they scare the hell out of me.
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