Winter Flying.

[hotairballoonist]

Well, It’s coming!  Cold weather!  Some of you may have already had your first snowfall!  We want to take a moment to talk about the challenges of winter flying.

Cold weather is hard on fuel systems.  Do you know where all your rubber “O” rings are?  Tank fittings? Fuel line fittings? Burner valves?  Take time to look over your fuel system and identify the areas where cold weather could create a leak or problems.  I have been assured by Mark West that “0” rings used today are far superior to those I remember when I was young but I still have images of “Challenger”  Yes living in Florida I was watching in person when that happened.

Heat or Nitrogen.  We all know that in cold weather your fuel pressure goes down.  We also know that fuel pressure is directly related to burner power.  http://hotairballoonist.com/forum/index.php?/topic/2615-propane-temp-psi-chart/ There are many ways to warm or pressurize your tanks. We will create a separate forum for this topic alone.  The methods for heating tanks are way too many to list in this article.

DRESS.  Yes there will be some radiant heat from the burners and yes you are flying with the wind but…  On many flights in the winter you will pass into or out of fairly strong wind shears.  These wind shears can cause a breeze in the basket of 5 to 10 to even 15 or more MPH.  This can take away any radiant heat you may be benefiting from.  Also remember that the heat will not go down below your waist.  YOU MUST dress extremely well to protect your lower body and feet!  Another thing to remember is that in some winter flying situations it may take the ground team a while to get to you.  Often the wind speeds are such aloft that the ground crew simply cannot keep up!  Using a GPS program that can report your position to a ground team with a phone or a tablet where they can watch your flight track and position may save you from a real uncomfortable situation at the landing site.  The Hot Air app for the apple products works well and the Glympse application is a good one as well.  There is a tutorial for the HotAir app on the site in the downloads section.

Extra Crew.  On winter flights you may want to have a few extra ground crew.  Often after the flight the pilot and passengers will be cold.  Let’s face it when you are standing for an hour you’re not building up any body heat like you would be if you were doing some sort of work or exercise.  The pilot and passengers may need to get inside a warm chase vehicle for a bit right after the flight.  Having extra crew means that the pilot and passengers can get out of the cold right away and the crew, who have been warm in the vehicle, can pack up the balloon.

Stopping the balloon.  Remember in situations. Where the ground is frozen or covered in snow there is much less friction between the basket and the surface.  This means it can take a much longer space to get your balloon stopped.  In many cases you will have to deflate the balloon and lay down the basket to stop it.  Always consider this when choosing a landing site.  Can you get the balloon stopped in the space you have chosen?

Watching the surface wind.  In the winter, judging the surface wind can be much more difficult than in the summer.  In the summer you can see the leaves in trees and smoke and the ripples on water as well as flags and other things to determine the speed and direction of the surface winds.  In the winter there are no leaves in the trees.  Many flags are taken down or possibly frozen.  Lakes with ice do not show wind speed and direction.  Having a ground team who has been trained in using a compass and pi-bal to determine speed and direction of the surface wind can be hugely helpful.  Remember in the winter there is nothing to stop the wind from coming down to the surface.  Winds can pick up very rapidly and potentially with little indication.  BE VIGELENT.

The TRAP DOOR.  When you are flying the winter you should be aware of the Trap Door Effect.  It is not uncommon to have very slow conditions on the surface yet 20+ mph as little as 300 feet aloft.  In these conditions in the winter time two things happen.  First as you descend into the slower layer near the surface the wind in the face will hold your balloon up.  The same effect as skipping a stone on water.  BUT,  As the balloon slows down the lifting force on the balloon will diminish.  At the same time that wind is cooling off your balloon at a faster rate than normal.  This will also create a “loss of lift” situation.  This is what we call the Trap Door Effect.  Be aware of the potential for this.  A firm rate of descent and a hard blast is a good way to punch thru that sheer.  Be ready to vent hard when you get below the sheer to avoid being sucked back up!  Also remember, when flying in the winter you balloon is much softer that it is in the summer.  When you descend thru the sheer pay extra attention to the throat of the balloon.  Many times it can be pushed in to the point where you can scorch or burn a large portion.  In the winter we need to go back to what we were taught when we first learned to fly.  LOOK UP before you turn on the burner.

Winter flying can be amazing when a little extra care is taken in preparation.  Often because of the cold air the visibility is nothing short of amazing.  But remember the cold weather can be a challenge and even dangerous if not prepared for.  WE look forward to receiving tips and tricks about winter flying from our members.

Thanks

Jeff