Between the time when you first arrive and the ballons take flight is about 45 minutes to an hour.  There is so much going on during that time period that the time just flies.
 

During the balloon inflation process described on the previous page,  the owner/operators loft several test hellium balloons to check local wind speed and conditions, as well as making several calls into Fairbanks International Airport getting the latest weather. 
 

No to flights are  exactly the same and even though the balloons all take off from the same spot it is no abnormal that during flight that they end up miles apart from one another.
 

Steering is acomplished by moving the ballon through various layers of wind Generally within one hundred feet of the ground the wind will be blowing  in one direction.  While at the same time up in lower cloud levels the wind will be blowing at a completely different direction.  So by raising and lowering the balloon through these various winds a pilot can navigate the balloon toward the targeted site for landing. 
 

And should the wind radically shift during flight each ballonist is equiped with a cell phone that they can notify any heading changes to their  ground crew well in adance of landing.
 
 

Mostly its just lazily drifting across the sky stopping to photograph the Moose, Bear, Fox and whatever else may show up that night. Some Balloonists land to let you pick fresh berries along  the way.  On clear nights you can get wonderful shots of Mount Mckinley and Tanana  River and the dazzling surrounding countryside. And on all nights you can get photos of Fairbanks spectacular sunsets. Which unlike other places in the world in Fairbanks sunsets last for hours. During which the sk go through the most profound color changes yellows, gold, reds, pink, purple, and blue.   
 

Just another Fairbanks sunset

Balloon flight time is normally an hour.  However if during the flight the paticipants express the desire to stay aloft longer the pilots will usually willing to continue the flight -- provided of course that they are in alignment with an alternate landing site.

This will now conclude your virtual ballon tour.  Before disembarking please watch your step. And Thank you again for riding with Alaskan Dreams.
 

Click on the balloon to return to Alaskan Dreams main page

 

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