The basket is the lowest part of the balloon, just underneath the burner. The basket is the compartment that carries the propane gas tank, the pilot, the passengers and other instruments. Baskets come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are smaller for private flights, and others are larger for commercial flights. It is also possible to tailor-make the basket to a set specification, from the wall height and width. Perhaps what makes wicker a resilient material would be a good follow-up read or study. If the wicker properties can assure safety in the air, it warrants further study.
Articles by Val Jiwa
The pilot controls an hotair balloon using the temperature inside the envelope. And the burner is the tool that he or she uses to control the temperature. That is why the burner is the engine of the balloon. An increase in the inside temperature sends the flight higher. And a decrease helps it land. In between, the pilot horizontally maneuvers it by catching the air drift at different altitudes. As the industry progresses, the world may have many other types of them. With the advancement of artificial intelligence, there might be a time when the balloon can fly even remotely.
The two important components of the balloon envelope are its fabric and vents. Other ballooning gears facilitate its functioning. During the flight, the pilot is always studying the altitude, pressure, and other aspects using various instruments. Pilots have a tremendous amount of control over the balloon’s rise, altitude, steering, descend and landing. They monitor it with various instruments using anticipation skills. These are equipment other than the envelope, burner and basket that the pilots use frequently. During a flight the pilot requires some of them, but not all. The instruments used during the flight are a fascinating study in itself.
Many people are enthusiastic about flying a hotair balloon. The next thing they do is to venture out and grab the best do-it-yourself kit available in the market. Those kits may provide information needed to make and operate a balloon but leave out the subtle nuances. For example, people wonder why the large size. They are large because of the need to create a lift that exceeds the volume of hot gas. The balloon takes an enormous amount of hot air to rise. It needs air with a temperature of 120°C and a radius of 4m to lift one person.
A basket, a burner and an envelope make up a hotair balloon. It’s a simple equipment. People had been using the same three components – basket, burner, envelope – for balloon ever since its invention in the 18thcentury. Although the sophistication level is higher, it still is composed of just those three things. The only difference is that the advanced technology has enabled it to fly higher, faster and safer. Perhaps by passing through the industry experience curve, balloons may be able to sustain longer distances in shorter time frame. With cutting-edge machinery, it is easy to fathom such a possibility.
The buoyancy theory was introduced by the Greek mathematician Archimedes. It is an upward force the air exerts when heated that defies the force of gravity. According to this principle, the upward resilient force is the same as the weight of the air that is displaced. Hotair balloon is an original application of this fundamental scientific principle. It rises due to the displacement of air. Ever since then, the idea has been gaining momentum. It gave birth not only to hotair balloon but eventually also to a full-fledged aviation industry. Along the way aviation history has witnessed some key moments.
The giraffe is an iconic and awe-inspiring creature and the tallest mammal on earth. Both ancient and modern cultures revered it and described it as being magnificent in appearance. But they are weird too, with their long necks and legs, large eyes and long lashes, ambling gait and calm demeanor as well as striking coat pattern. They play a unique role in the ecosystem by eating leaves too high for use by other animals. Giraffes spot the predators before any other animals because of their height, and then they warn the others about the danger through their soundless communication method.
Maasai giraffes are the tallest of the subspecies of giraffes. They do not have to compete with other animals for food because of their height. As a strict herbivore, a giraffe is adapted to reach shoots, foliage, fruits, flowers and other vegetation from tall trees that are inaccessible to other herbivores because of its extreme height and long necks. The height also helps them to remain in areas where grazing has obliterated the plants close to the ground. Giraffes can survive in regions with scarce water. They can go for days without drinking and stay hydrated by the leaves’ moisture.
There are nine species of giraffes in Africa, although the taxonomy is not widely and popularly agreed. They are the Reticulated or Somali giraffe, Kordofan giraffe, Nubian giraffe, South African or Cape giraffe, Angolan or Smokey giraffe, West African or Nigerian Giraffe, Maasai or Kilimanjaro giraffe, Rhodesian or Thornicroft giraffe and Rothschild or Ugandan giraffe. Some scientists regard West African and Kordofan giraffes as a single subspecies; the same way with Rothschild’s and Nubian giraffes, as well as with South African and Angolan giraffes. Further, some scientists consider all of them except the Maasai giraffes belonging to a single subspecies.
Once the giraffes lie down to sleep, getting up quickly even in response to a predator’s attack is an awkward and time-consuming procedure. Those lean legs take some time to get off the ground. Therefore, when giraffes sleep, more often they remain fully standing with their neck and head curved around to rest on their hump. Or they engage in a sort of half-sleeping period in a fully upright position, in which the eyes are half-open, and the ears keep twitching. They have also been known to occasionally keep an eye open protecting itself by almost never going off alert.