Ballooning Basics • • Float into the Sky • Piloting Overview

An Overview of Ballooning

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Did you know that Mylar balloons are made with mylar nylon? Mylar is a material developed for use with the US space program.

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Ballooning is a Fun Sport!

The 3 main parts of a Hot Air Balloon are the Basket (or gondola), the Burner system, and the Envelope. There are other parts.

A 'Gore' is a section of fabric running from top to bottom of the envelope. In between Gores are 'load tapes' which carry the load of the balloon.

Load tapes run both vertically and horizontally around the Envelope. Many balloons have two sections of fabric near the top of the envelope called 'Turning Vents'.

The Pilot may activate either of the vents to cause the balloon to spin on it’s axis. When this happens, you the passenger are treated to a panoramic view of the area you are flying over.

The narrow portion of the Envelope at the bottom is called the 'Throat' or 'Mouth'. Below that is a 'skirt' or 'scoop' which protects the burner flame from wind allowing it to blow straight up into the Envelope. The entire structure is called ‘A Hot Air Balloon System’.

Getting Engaged or Married in a Balloon?

Great, perhaps you are planning a surprise engagement. Better have the champagne! We mean your Champagne Sunglasses that is!

And don't forget your Wedding Engagement Sunglasses either. Whether you are going up in Napa, Sonoma or Albuquerque, our fun sunglasses will add to the fun!

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A Hot Air Balloon is a type of Aircraft just as gliders, helicopters, seaplanes, fixed wing airplanes are also types of Aircraft.

First a Pilot must be trained to fly a Hot Air Balloon and then licensed by the FAA. Next the FAA writes the rules about how Aircraft may be flown. Balloon Pilots observe these ‘rules of the road’ just like Airline Pilots. In fact it’s the same rule book used by both.

Pilots and Owners of Hot Air Balloons may perform some routine maintenance on their Aircraft, much like checking the air pressure or changing the oil in your vehicle. Maintenance requiring repair or disassembly of parts must be performed by licensed repair persons at licensed repair stations.

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The manufacturer of the Balloon determines what can be maintained by the Pilot and what must be performed by the Repair Station. In addition, the FAA determines the frequency in which all Balloons must undergo a complete inspection called an Annual Inspection.

Balloons come in various sizes. The size is determined by the number of cubic feet of air that can be contained within the envelope. Sizes range from as small as 30,000 cubic feet or as large as over 300,000 cubic feet. Most have difficulty relating cubic feet to something they are familiar with. A basket ball or shoe box is about 1 cubic foot in size.

The creative event planner will have a host of innovative ideas in his or her basket of choices to present to the client. Among these choices should be a collection of our unique and inexpensive sunglasses. Pictured to the left is a pair of gold champagne sunglasses which can be used for many, many, many special function invitations.
Sure, any DJ can bring a bubble machine to an evening event, but how many will bring the champagne bubbles and put them right on the nose of your guests?

champagne shaped bottle hot air balloon in a cloudy blue sky

When a host or hostess plans to throw a really big party, one of the decoration elements they consider are bunches of balloons. Did you know that bunches of balloons take a name from the floral industry, and are known as "balloon bouquets"?

But what if a young man wanted to propose to a young lady, as in take her hand in marriage? Would he decorate the room with balloons? We do know one man who loaded the hotel ahead of time with dozens of helium balloons speckling the ceiling, each one trailing a festive curling ribbon. One special balloon had the engagement ring attached to the end of the ribbon. Voila!

A perfect way to create a memorable engagement is to hire a balloon ride. Not just any balloon ride, consider using this corporate balloon from the Korbel Champagne company.

More about Balloons (continued from top)

We sort of wax philosophic about balloons. All kids of balloons, balloons are a surprisingly wide ranging topic. Just look above at the hot air balloon. You may not have been searching for the helium balloon variety, more likely looking for birthday balloons, but voila! An inflatable balloon such as the kind you ride into the air is a balloon indeed!

You may not have known that a bunch of balloons is known in the balloon industry as balloon bouquets. It is simple to understand once you hear the term. A lot of event planners have a list of their favorite balloon professionals. Party planners know the importance of balloon sculptures at a party and their Rolodex is sure to dial up their favorite balloon company or balloon twisters early in the party planning process.

Event managers also need wholesale sources for things such as napkins, plastic cutlery, silverware, tablecloths and the like, although a lot of catering vendors need the markup on these items. In these cases, the catering company would not like at all to handle party goods purchased by another. Party Balloons, they're cheap enough, that's OK.

There is a bit of a debate about balloon releases and the use of mylar, latex and rubber balloons. Those who are balloon advocates argue that latex is a natural product from trees and will degrade in the same time as an oak leaf. Opponents point out that in the meanwhile, before the degradation, there is ample time for rotting latex rubber balloons to be swallowed by an animal or for it to tangle in the feet of a bird or other ground creature. Those who are considering balloon releases should know the parameters of the local laws (for some states have outlawed balloon releases), and consider the environmental impact before going ahead and just letting hundreds of balloons go into the air.

You know some balloon releases cause the balloons to rise up, other balloon release styles cause the balloons to drop down! Everyone is trying to find a source for these cheap balloons. Use our list to find one!

Politcal conventions use printed balloons and balloon drops. Conventions are famous for balloon drops from the ceiling of convention centers, ballrooms and fundraising theaters. Can you imagine the rush of seeing imprinted balloons falling from the sky with your name emblazoned on them! It's almost as much fun as exploding hydrogen balloons!

And of course, New Year's Eve is a big balloon party time. At the stroke of midnight at a big New Year's Eve Party silver or gold balloons will drop from the ceiling. And then there are the parade balloons like Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Every American loves watching the parade come down Broadway in New York City. Did you know the parade starts right across the street from the city's Central Park? Those helium balloons are an American Treasure. Did you know the red star of the Macy's logo is there in honor of the ship that RHMacy sailed on as a young man, the Red Star. All the sailors on board had a red star tatoo on their hands.

Master Balloon Twisters turn those long skinny balloons into true balloon art. It's way beyond balloon animals now! Balloon sculptures are always a big hit at parties and bar mitzvahs the world over. Even the excitement of a carnival or circus is made more thrilling for a child if they can bring a carnival balloon home! Kids love toy balloons. And they love in particular water balloons. They love throwing at each other and anything else in the way for that matter.

Check out our list of wholesale balloon suppliers also know as Bulk Balloon Manufacturers List.

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Breaking Sunglasses News:

Did you know there are now Bluetooth Sunglasses? Yes! Released by a company named Inter Brands, they have 100 minutes of standby time, talk time up to 5 hours. The receiver would combine with the sunglasses and if you don't want to wear the sunglasses then you could take it out as the decoration. The Bluetooth receiver could be used for MP3, laptop, desktop computer, cell phone and the skype.

One Hit Wonder or Mogul in Training? Soulja Boy may have rapped about getting F's in school, but since he's become a celeb, the young'un has obviously acquired knowledge in economics. He has a full blitz tied into his new album. In addition to the CD he is about to release, comes "Soulja Boy Sunglasses", his own signature shoes called Yums, as well as a cartoon titled "Bad Little Homies" about him and his friends. "Crank That" started this young man's wheels crankin!

Did you know that rapper/hip hop artist Kanye West is performing in April 2008 and May throughout the USA? Here are some of the current concert locations: Las Vegas at the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa, Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Journal Pavilion, Denver, Colorado at the Pepsi Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the Ford Center, Austin, Texas at the Frank Irwin Center, Dallas, Texas at the Superpages.com Center [that's a weird name] and in Houston, Texas at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. We offer the white slotted glasses that he made famous in this Stronger video. We call them Kanye West Shutter Shades.

Thanks for looking for Christmas Balloons. Don't forget to consider cheap sunglasses when looking for graduation gifts.