Prep For Flight

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, October 2012.

I finally got some pics up from this year's Balloon Fiesta. Not too many days of flying, as the winds were strong this year. "My" balloon only flew twice, as the balloon is quite tall. A few years back, a sudden gust blew the balloon into an olive orchard, and it spent four days in the shop getting sewn back together.
Take off is optional
Landing is not.

The camera auto adjusts the light, but at this point, the sun is still behind the mountains, and it's just light enough to see what we're doing.

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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Getting the tubing from tanks to burners ready.
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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  The rope "Y" hooks the basket to the back of the truck, as an safety anchor point.
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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Tipping basket over, ready to attach balloon. I almost missed this, taking pictures of other balloons, so my poor camera's auto-focus didn't get a chance to. I'm just glad it got the picture.
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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Pulling the balloon out of its stiff sack. Getting ready to attach balloon to basket. The fan there is used to blow up the balloon.
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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Attaching balloon to basket. Now you know why the basket was tipped over.
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  Unfolding Balloon

  Pulling the balloon the rest of the way out of its stuff sack.
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  Unfolding Balloon

  More unpacking and unfolding of the balloon...
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  Unfolding Balloon

  ...and unfolding the balloon...
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  Unfolding Balloon

  ...and unfolding the balloon...this thing goes on forever!
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  Unfolding Balloon

  Unfolding and laying balloon out flat.
  Three filled balloons, one doing a "glow" (burner lighting up the inside).
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  Starting To Fill The Balloon

  A hot air balloon is first blown up. Literally, with that big fan. Once there's air in the balloon, the burners will turn it into hot air, and the balloon will rise.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Starting to fill with air.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Balloon slowly inflating. Some balloons will use two fans to speed the process.
  I love the rising balloons in the background.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Balloon slowly inflating. Some balloons will use two fans to speed the process.
  Brisk wind above ground, as the balloons rising in the background are going up at a noticeable angle.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Inflating the balloon.
  Other balloons taking to the air and moving south at a good rate.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Inflating the balloon. Getting the crown sealed and the crown rope ready.
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  Filling The Balloon

  I'm at the far end of the crown rope. Our balloon is maybe half full, and still dwarfs the people around it. The balloons to the right are some of the commercial balloons that fly with baskets that can hold 18 to 24 people.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Balloon starting to show its size. This balloon is a wine pitcher and that little bit at the top is the spout.
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  Filling The Balloon

  Remember picture #17, where I stood wa-a-a-ay out there? That's where Kevin is headed, to hold the crown rope. Among other things, it keeps the balloon from flopping around as it fills.
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  Filling The Balloon

  What a balloon full of air looks like.
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  Filling The Balloon

  See the arrow, just to the left of our blue/gray balloon? Way back there by the white truck? That's Kevin with the crown rope.
  The sky is starting to fill with balloons.
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  Making the Hot Air Balloon Have Hot Air

  Heating the air so the balloon will rise.
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  Upright Balloon

  Prepping for take-off. There's a rope from the back of the truck to the balloon that can act as an anchor for the ballon. Note the other "special shape" balloon there: the fireman.
  I took a movie of the rise of the balloon. My camera and I don't speak "movie" too well yet, and I got a lot of twitchy movie picture.
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  Prepping for Take-off

  Prepping for take-off, making sure all the fiddly bits are secure. The lady in the black-n-white striped shirt and the zebra socks is called, not surprisingly, a "zebra", and directs each balloon's launch.
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  Prepping For Take-off

  Prepping for take-off. They're are attaching the radio, and unhooking the rope that's attached to the truck.
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  Prepping For Take-off

  Keeping it hot, ready to launch
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  Prepping For Take-off

  Roar of the flame, hot air balloon about to launch.
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  Prepping For Take-off

  Up, up and away
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  Prepping For Take-off

  Up, up and away. Our balloon, in a sky full of balloons, launched before the sun clears the mountains to the east. The brighter balloons are high enough to be in sunlight.
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