weird noise this morning

[LarryRB]

Kept hearing this weird noise and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Next thing, I look out towards the reservoir and there is a large balloon just 30 off the water surface. What I was hearing was the gas as they kept a particular height. First pic, with dead batteries I may add, you can barely see the balloon starting to rise,

 

[LarryRB]

I ran to the other side of our barn and got this when the batteries went totally dead

 

[Bird]

Larry, it's been over 20 years ago, shortly after sunrise one Saturday morning, I was in the garage getting ready to mow the yard when I heard that sound. I stepped out in the driveway just in time to see my next door neighbor come running out his back door in his pajamas to see what that sound was, and one of the balloons passed over, just barely clearing out rooftops. That can certainly be a loud, scary sound.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I stepped out in the driveway just in time to see my next door neighbor come running out his back door in his pajamas to see what that sound was, That can certainly be a loud, scary sound. )</font>

The neighbor in his pajamas? Or the balloon? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bird]

Both. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[ronjhall]

<font color="blue"> That can certainly be a loud, scary sound. </font>
While I like the site of these balloons. They are not welcome to land in my Field.
I live on the eastern edge of a rural area. Balloons had to land in this area before they got to residential areas where they could not land. The noise and sight of the balloons would spook ours and others animals. Nothing like a balloon crew landing and bringing their vehicles on your hay field. Thankfully they have stopped landing over this area in the last few years.

 

[LarryRB]

the noise didn't scare me, it was just so unusual from the norm... Takes a lot of propane and constant shooting it into the balloon. If this guy/girl couldn't get height and in a hurry, I would have had to gone swimming and get them out...

 

[Cliff_Johns]

There was recently a case where very low flying balloons caused an ostrich stampede and killed a bunch of the guys animals and destroyed the groupings -- very important to ostrichs. It basically destroyed the guys lively hood. He couldn't meet his commitments for meat etc. There was nothing he could do. They didn't land, so the courts didn't view it as the balloonists fault. Just tough luck.

Cliff

 

[DrRod]

There's a good bit of lag time between shooting some flame into the balloon envelope and the thing moving up. Shoot too late and you can have a hard/wet landing. Shoot too much and you kinda slingshot up -- maybe higher than you want.

Did a lot of ballooning when I lived in New Mexico. Glad I did it but I could take it or leave it. Ok -- its neat to be floating along but how much floating can you do. A bit risky at times as well.

 

[BlueRidge]

My folks used to live in a regular balloon flight path. When the fog was low, they'd be right overhead, hitting the gas to clear the small ridge behind the house.


Noisy buggers, but pretty.