Hot air ballooning?????

Question

I'm going to visit family in Washington this Agust. They want to know if my brother and I (I'm 13) want to go hot air ballooning with them. I'm very nervous. I get paranoid about going up in the air and things like that. I get kind of scared on planes and have to do things to calm myself down. I'm scared of things like the balloon catching on fire, the wind blowing us away, or us crashing. Has anyone been on a hot air balloon? What's it like? Is there any dangers? What is the likeleyhood of it happening? Is it scary? I really think I should go because when I'm an adult I think I may regret it. Please tell me all about what to expect and if I have any reason to fear! Thanks!

Answer 1

Go for the balloon ride, you won't regret it. It is REALLY fun and very peaceful except when the burner is going (the burner is loud). I worked for a hot air balloon company for a year and can tell you that it is very, very safe, especially because the pilots have to be commercially rated in order to legally fly balloons for hire. This means they must have a lot of training and experience, so they know how to stay out of trouble as well as handle emergencies. The pilots will not take passengers up in high winds, and despite the fact that balloons can only drift downwind, they are very controllable so finding a safe landing spot is quite easy. Because the balloon cloth is fire-resistant, fires are extremely rare. The baskets are also extremely durable and crash resistant, so passengers rarely get seriously injured, even in a bad crash landing. In fact, you have a much greater chance of being killed in a car accident on the way to take the balloon ride than having even a minor problem with the balloon. Have fun!

Answer 2

Go for it!  Like most things, of course there will be some dangers but if minors are allowed to do it, it must be pretty safe.  Have fun.  I'm jealous!