YOUR HOT-AIR BALLOON FLIGHT
Have you bought your flight and would like to know what happens right up to boarding day? Then you’ve come to the right place, as we explain the various procedures right up to D-Day!
STEPS AFTER PURCHASING YOUR BALLOON FLIGHT ONLINE
Choosing the day of your flight
That’s it, you’ve bought your hot-air balloon flight, now all we have to do is agree on the date for the big day! You can call us on 02 37 31 01 96 or contact us by e-mail to let us know the dates you would like to fly. As flights depend on the weather, we suggest you choose several dates. Don’t worry, the ticket is valid for 2 years, which gives you plenty of time to choose different days for your flight.
Hot-air balloon flights take place early in the morning (at sunrise) and at the end of the day (2 to 3 hours before sunset). Timetables therefore vary according to the month of the year, and the good news is that Air Pegasus flies all year round!
| Juanuary | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | 8h15 | 7h50 | 7h00 | 7h00 | 6h00 | 5h20 | 5h20 | 6h00 | 6h40 | 7h20 | 7h50 | 7h50 |
| Evening | 15h30 | 16h15 | 17h00 | 18h45 | 19h30 | 20h15 | 20h15 | 20h00 | 19h00 | 18h00 | 16h00 | 15h15 |
The day before your hot-air balloon flight
The day of your flight is approaching! We invite you to contact us the day before your flight. The weather and wind conditions are favourable and all the lights are green for your flight? We’ll let you know the time and place of the meeting. If any of your friends would like to be present at your take-off and landing, they are more than welcome to follow our vehicle as it picks up the balloon on landing (and you can leave directly with them, if that suits you).
It’s very easy to prepare your gear: just wear comfortable clothes that you’re comfortable in. As we’re not climbing above 2,000 metres, the temperature difference with the ground is minimal. You can take a head covering if you wish. For morning flights, it’s important to take a pair of waterproof shoes. For evening flights, on the other hand, it is advisable to take a jacket, as the atmosphere quickly cools down in the middle of the fields as night falls! It is forbidden to wear flip-flops or sandals.
Don’t forget to bring a camera to capture the moment. You won’t be able to take a bag that’s too big in the basket. If you need to, you can leave it in the vehicle that follows the balloon.
The day of your flight
1- PREPARATIONS & TAKE-OFF
It’s D-Day! It’s time to meet at the launch site. If there are several balloons on the day, we’ll make a call to guide you to your pilot and balloon.
After distribution, it’s time to prepare the balloon. You’re welcome to help set up the balloon, and the pilot will be with you all the way. You can ask him questions about ballooning, and he’ll be happy to answer them. He will give you a short briefing on how the flight will go and the safety position to take on landing.
We fan the balloon with cold air and when the balloon reaches its round shape, we heat it with the burners and the balloon straightens up. The pilot then invites you to climb in and off you go for an hour’s flight without a sound (apart from the intermittent burner).
- 2- HOT-AIR BALLOONING
Once we’ve set off, only the wind will decide our direction. A hot-air balloon does not steer itself, it follows the direction of the wind. Depending on our altitude, we will go in a direction that may be the opposite of the one we had at take-off. The pilot goes up and down looking for the current that will give you the best flight. During the flight, the pilot will be happy to answer your questions and show you things you don’t necessarily see and vice versa, the deer, the hare, the pheasant, etc… Perhaps you saw something that the others didn’t notice, mention it, you are just as much the actor, it’s up to you to make this flight a moment of sharing and emotion! The pilot will remind you to adopt the correct safety position on landing.
3- LANDING
It’s time to land. The pilot will find an area suitable for the size of the balloon, a road, a path, a meadow or a field that is not cultivated and that is easy to access for the cars following us. IMPORTANT: when you land, put your back to the runway in the “chair position” (as if you wanted to sit on a chair) by gripping the handles just in front of you. It is important to look in the opposite direction to the direction of travel to avoid any risk if it is windy. Wait for the pilot to give you permission to leave the basket, so as not to unbalance the balloon. It’s possible that the basket will go down, there’s no problem, just that it was a bit windy! The pilot will let you know if the basket is likely to go down or not, so the suspense is at its height!
4- AFTER THE EFFORT, THE COMFORT
After landing, it’s time to pack up the balloon! You’re welcome to help the crew and the pilot. The sooner the balloon is tidied up, the sooner we can share a glass of champagne or orange juice and hand out your first flight in a hot-air balloon certificate. Then it’s time to get in the car and head back to the launch base.