What could be easier than holding the mouth of the balloon open while the fan blows in air? Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, and you’ll eventually see, when the least little thing goes wrong with this “simple” task.
Here we are in the launch field with the basket and envelope attached and the envelope streamered out on the ground ready to begin the cold inflation. The first thing we do is to make sure that the envelope was not twisted while being packed up after the last flight. Each balloon has certain panels or gore that should be on the top side when the balloon is inflated. Most balloons have a numbering system with the number of each gore marked at the mouth of the balloon. The pilot or crew chief will find this panel and the load tapes or ropes on each side of this gore are walked out by two people to make certain that this gore is on top for the inflation. If the balloon is twisted it is very difficult to inflate. Some pilots even go to the extent of spreading out the entire envelope to make the inflation go easier. Spreading the envelope out is up to the individual pilot, however, the top panel should always be walked out to make certain that the envelope is not twisted.
Now we are ready to hold the mouth open and crank up the fan. The crew people holding the mouth should have a good pair of leather gloves. They will be handling the cables or ropes that hold the envelope to the basket and these can injure your hands if you work without gloves. If you are working with a balloon that has a skirt, the skirt is pushed up toward the girdle or bottom of the actual envelope during the early part of the inflation. One person stands on each side of the mouth and holds the envelope open to allow air from the fan to enter the balloon. The most experienced crew person or the crew chief is usually positioned at the side of the mouth where the deflation line is located.
The inflation has now started. The fan is blowing air into the envelope and the pilot or crew chief has started to walk out to the top of the balloon to set the top or to do his “walk around”. Some instructors teach that the pilot should never leave the mouth of the balloon during inflation while others teach that the pilot should be the person that sets the top. This is another of those things that is left to the individual preference of the pilot. Neither task is more important than the other. The pilot who remains at the mouth of the balloon during inflation was probably taught to remain at the mouth in case a strong winds comes up or something else happens that could result in aborting the inflation. In this case it is the pilot’s decision to abort the inflation and he or she does so by pulling out the top. The pilot who was taught to do the walk around feels it is his responsibility to check the top to make certain that it is seated correctly. Either method is acceptable and the other task can be assigned to the crew chief or experienced crew person. Personally I like to do a walk around and set my own top. Therefore, before I leave the mouth of the balloon I assign the vent or rip line to the most experienced of the two people handling the mouth. This person is instructed to pull out the top and abort the inflation if anything goes wrong. What could go wrong? Well, a wind could come up that starts dragging the balloon. The fan could start making loud grinding noises (ran out of oil). A gust of wind from an unexpected direction could blow the partially inflated balloon off to the side or back toward the basket. It could be any number of things that causes you to abort an inflation. If this task is assigned to a crew person and that person opts to abort the pilot should never second guess that person’s decision. Second guessing causes a person to lose confidence and that person will usually end up crewing for someone else.
The two people holding the mouth open during inflation have several responsibilities. First, they have to hold the mouth open wide enough to capture as much of the air blast from the fan as possible. Also, they should try to keep air from blowing underneath the balloon. To accomplish this some crew people are instructed to put a foot on the cable, actual mouth of the balloon or the skirt during the inflation. Of the three I feel that a foot on one of the lower cables is best because standing on the balloon mouth or skirt can cause a tear. Many newer balloons do not have metal cables, therefore, it is best to let the pilot instruct the crew on how they should accomplish this task. The crew at the mouth also have to be very aware of where their feet are during the inflation. They can easily become tangled in the cables if they are not careful. They should not allow the cables to rise up behind them or between their legs. As the balloon inflates the mouth gets higher and the skirt starts to slide down to where the mouth is being held open. At this point the skirt should be stretched toward the basket and held open. This allows more of the fan blast to be directed into the envelope. The skirt has a stiff metal band around the bottom which helps hold it open and this band can be held to the ground to keep air from blowing under the balloon. On those balloons with scoops instead of skirts, the scoop is already attached to the bottom of the burner assembly and the crew simply holds the cables during the entire inflation.
Next month we will discuss windy conditions and the hot inflation. As always, your feedback is encouraged. Please direct all comments to me at aerobp@flash.net or P. O. Box 830011, Richardson, Texas 75083.