There has been a bit of talk here and there about the use of safety belts in balloons. Although I currently fly passengers for hire in the Northern California Wine Country where it's generally calm, I do have the opportunity to do a little "bump and grinding" every once in a while. After personally briefing and hosting over 10,000 passengers during my career, I am still surprised at how many people seem to want to do a swan dive out of the basket if and when it tips over. Maybe they are lulled into a sense of tranquillity by the flight itself, or simply don't grasp the contrast of the physics of momentum, but I find myself most distracted by the potential of them leaving my basket unannounced. I have had many times when I needed an extra hand to grab on to a passenger, which made it difficult for me to hold on for myself and keep the red line pulled at the same time. Maybe this is why we often hear of pilots falling out during ballooning accidents.

I have not (yet) incorporated an individualized restraint system into my gondolas for my guests, but I have found a simple way to keep a grip on myself. While visiting my neighborhood hardware mega-warehouse I happened upon an inexpensive and simple restraining harness that I have found much success with. Although many of the belts in the tool section were constructed of a wide piece of leather with buckle, one of the more modern styles was an adjustable 1.5 inch cordura belt with foam-rubber padding inside and a 2 inch wide plastic pinch snap. This commonly seen style of snap is patented as "Fastex". Using two fingers, two male insertion prongs release easily. Smaller versions are most commonly seen on fanny packs. In my imagination, it looked more like something custom-made for my imagined pilot restraint than like it's labeled description as a quick release waist belt for tool pouches. I bought all four on the shelf and pondered how they might work in each of my gondolas. When I got home I stood in my usual pilot's command corner of the basket and envisioned how I might comfortably and quickly belt myself in. The easiest solution became obvious and I lengthened the belt so it would comfortably go around my waist and the "upwind upright" of that particular basket. I have turning vents in all my balloons so I can anticipate the direction of my landings but even if I didn't, I would move myself into an upwind position in order to belt into place. I allowed for four to six inches of free play between myself and the basket's interior and simulated leaning against it as if the basket had tipped over. It seemed I would be able to hang at the hip just like an acrobat with feet still firmly planted. I could lean over the basket's interior with both hands free to grab on to the controls, or the passengers, as necessary. I might no longer need extra hands to "hang on" for myself. Now all I had to do was to wait for a real occasion to see how it would work.

With the help of the spring winds of April, I got the chance to put my little harness to its test. I had stored it loosely snapped around the top collar of the fuel tank in "my corner" of the basket. This made it easy to undo and wrap around my waist a few minutes before my descent. In anticipation of a breezy landing I positioned myself, wrapped the harness around the upright to hold me in place and repeated instructions to my passengers to prepare for a "drag" landing. I had practiced this placement exercise for a few weeks now so it no longer felt so strange to be restricted to the corner. Even though I had the opportunity to make a gradual, shallow approach the basket still dragged and tipped on its side. I was delighted to discover that my simple device worked well. I managed to maintain my pull on the red line, and at the same time reach over to secure one of my younger passengers who was a little too close to the edge. While the wind finished the envelope's deflation, I was pleased to be able to assist the passengers in extricating themselves from their pile at the bottom of the basket, without having joined them myself. After that, with a pinch of two fingers, I was easily released.

After this experience I had other occasions to use the belt myself and I eagerly introduced the idea to other pilots who flew my balloons. Eventually, I crewed for one of these pilots named Eric, who had seemed only mildly interested when I originally introduced the idea. He made one attempted landing into a space that turned out to be too short to land for the winds that day. He turned it into a touch and go. Before his next attempt I used the radio to remind him of "the belt" and ultimately met him and his passengers for another fast but final landing. It was apparent that his adrenal glands had been put to use along with the belt, because Eric emerged from that basket with a big satisfied smile.

"See what it can allow you to do?" I asked. "Yeah!" he said, "what a difference that made!"

I have been pleased to share and discuss this idea with other balloonists whom I've come in contact with, and have gotten positive feedback. Since my invention has been tested and validated by this fellow pilot, I've had subsequent occasions to see it work again for myself. Each time I've used it I have gained a sense of security. I have also discovered an added stability during occasions where I have been sitting on the ground, waiting for crew to arrive, in smaller gondolas that tend to tip and roll with breezy ground winds. Being anchored in place allows me to be more physically available to assist passengers in staying secured and comfortable. Ironically, I find they often get more tense with the basket tipping especially after we've stopped dragging across the ground. This makes sense when appreciating their excitement or newly found respect of the comparably dramatic landing effect. I feel better being able to hold and steady them. I believe it may be all too easy for us seasoned balloonists to forget our first flight and landing. Without firsthand experience of a fast bumpy landing, new passengers can't truly know exactly what to expect, no matter how graphic we are in explaining it. If they take our description too fearfully they'll probably tense up; if taken trivially they won't be suitably prepared and physically available to deal with any passenger situation. This simple belt may just make a difference on how present and in command a pilot can be.