Hot air ballooning over the Luberon - June, 4th 2010

 
From the outside
Time to prepare the balloon
Fans starting to fill the balloon with air
The overall shape is starting to appear
Filling up
Putting the cap at the top of the balloon
Capping the balloon
A big balloon
Full of air
Time to heat the air
Starting to go up
The inside of the balloon
A rope got twisted
A deflating balloon
Half-dome balloon
Almost full
Heating again
Going up
Balloon in the air
Seeing the top of the balloon
Patches
Going up
The heating engine
A great view over Forcalquier and its countryside
Forcalquier and the countryside
Mont Ventoux on the far left side
The Alps and the Ecrins in the background
Countryside
90° down view
Seeing our shadow
The balloon shadow
The Forcalquier area
Prepare to land
Going down
The shadow
The end
How to empty this balloon?

About this photo album

About... A nice initiation to hot air ballooning over Forcalquier in the Luberon area (Provence, France).

Leaving in the early morning, going a few kilometers away from Forcalquier. It is time to prepare the balloon. Huge fans to fill the balloon with air, then heat up in order to leave the ground.

Very calm and peaceful experience. We don't feel we are leaving the ground, and pretty soon we start seeing the wonderful countryside of the Luberon. Great view on the Alps mountains, going up at 2 kilometers high...

Then it is time to go down. With such balloons, the area where it lands cannot be predicted... Finally we landed on a non-so-flat area and finished into a dead tree :) Last thing : empty the air in the balloon and repack the stuff; not as easy as it seems!

37 photos in this album