2010-07-03 – First Lesson – Mildura – VH-BLQ (77)

This was my first instructional flight in a hot air balloon.

I was at Mildura as part of the Australian Ballooning Federation’s “The Lake 2010” event

Here’s my notes from the flight:

  • Paul’s FICOM check process
  • Cold, crisp conditions with steady light winds
  • Inflated under Paul’s guidance & did a “3 Bounce” take off:
    • Stay on the ground line
    • Inflate & get lift
    • Let it return to the ground
    • Repeat 3 times
    • Launch on peak of next lift
    • Lets you identify false lift
  • Went to about 2,000′ to check direction of winds aloft
  • Wasn’t totally comfortable at altitude (“the voice”)
  • Back down to low level again – skimming the ground was great fun
  • Stand up landing in a field
  • Got out and rode with the chase crew so Cynthia could get in & fly the second hop
  • Elation to be flying at last
  • So much to learn
  • Paul’s “count the balloons” method for keeping track of others

Click here to view my log book entry at JetRecord.com
Jetrecord

This entry was posted in balloons, Flight Notes, flying, Learning to Fly and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.