It is precisely with this beautiful summer weather that people like to take a balloon ride. Enjoy a relaxed look from the hot air balloon over the Brabant countryside. But due to the heat wave, there is a good chance that a booked trip will not take place. “It is simply too hot now,” says Daan van Loosbroek of Sky Ballonvaarten in Tilburg.
Due to the high outside temperature, the balloons can lift less weight and can therefore carry fewer passengers. With a few extra hot days ahead, the question for balloonists is whether they can take off.
In the course of the afternoon, Van Loosbroek always decides whether the flight can continue in the evening. If not, customers must be canceled. Most are understanding, but there is also disappointment or even anger.
“These high temperatures are also no fun for the passengers in the basket. They have to drink at least a liter. The full sun and the two burners provide a lot of heat, but because you sail with the wind, there is no cooling,” says Van Loosbroek.
“Private trips by groups to celebrate a birthday are excluded anyway.”
His colleague Ad Haarhuis from the Breda balloon company Ad Ballon is also struggling with the heat wave. “We have to weigh everything, including the passengers, to determine whether the flight can continue. If necessary, we divide a group of twelve over two balloons, but that also means double costs for us. Twice as much propane gas, an extra pilot and double car costs to pick up balloons and passengers again,” explains Haarhuis.
In the parking lot of Sky Ballonvaarten are six cars with trailers on which different types of baskets are tied. When Van Loosbroek opens one of the burners, the flame creates fierce heat.
“With this summer heat, that together feels like more than 40 degrees Celsius. And not everyone can handle that. In fact, passengers sometimes get unwell,” says the pilot.
On a sheet of paper are tables that indicate how much passenger weight the balloon can handle at which temperature. At 15 degrees Celsius this is almost 2000 kilos, while at 30 degrees Celsius less than 1300 kilos can go into the air. And turning the burner even higher does not help, because the air in the balloon must not be hotter than 100 degrees. Otherwise the material will wear too hard.
“Due to the hot weather, we can now only carry a third of the weight. So if we can sail at all, a third of the passengers will lose.” And that does not always sit well with the customers, who have been looking forward to the balloon flight. “Private trips by groups, for example to celebrate a birthday, are not allowed anyway. Because we don’t want to leave revelers on the ground.”
Haarhuis hopes for a good and long late summer: “That can ease the suffering. But I’m not complaining. Ballooning depends on the weather conditions. A risk of the profession.”
His Tilburg colleague is not worried either. “Bookings are going well and we will plan more trips in the early morning if necessary. Then it will be cooler. And it would be great if we could also sail in November and December,” Van Loosbroek hopes.
