Written by Karen Brown, Pilot

After the main launch of hot air balloons have drifted away, you will notice a few balloons that seem to be bobbing around at low altitude over the field. These are the tethered balloons. This is your opportunity to ride a tethered balloon. Tethered balloons are tied off by three or more lines to objects on the ground, usually vehicles, to restrict their flight. The tethered balloon will launch, go up approximately 50 feet, float and land.

As a passenger, the feeling you experience with tethered flight is the same as with a free, un-tethered, flight of 1000 feet. The only difference is the view. For the balloon pilot and crew, it involves a bit more work. Although the balloon fabric is chemically treated to protect it, heat can reduce the life of the balloon. More heat is needed for the repeated liftoffs and landings of tethering than with non-tethered flight. This repeated heating of the balloon not only must be closely monitored by the pilot, but it also subjects the pilot to a constant barrage of heat with each burner blast. With each passenger exchange, the pilot must mentally calculate the total weight for lift temperatures to keep a slow, steady launch and prevent jerking the balloon and passengers when the balloon reaches the end of the tie off line. Normal launch speed would be about 200 feet per minute. While tethering, it needs to stay around 25 feet per minute. Pilots who tether also have to be prepared to answer questions at the same time they are managing the flight. Sometimes the same questions get answered over and over and over, so patience and personality are a must. (No shy guys and gals here!)

Pilots also need a great crew, preferably five, to help tether. As hard as tethering is on the balloon and pilot, it is even harder on the crew. In traditional flight, after the balloon is inflated, crew will typically help a pilot launch and land once. This involves providing "weight on" for launch (adding extra weight to the basket until the pilot has the balloon stabilized with passengers) and stepping back when told, and repeating the process again for landing. For a tethered operation, this must happen dozens of times, while passengers are loaded and unloaded. The crew must also monitor the tether lines, manage safety and crowd control, collect money and/or tickets and help with passenger weight distribution. All this must be done while also providing a constant supply of water to the overheated pilot! Crew must also be prepared to answer frequent questions and provide public relations for the pilot and the balloon show. Again, patience and personality are very helpful.

Even though tethering is hard, there are pilots and crew out there who love to have this opportunity to share their love of ballooning with the general public and give the experience of balloon flight. So get in line early to get your tethered ride.

Unfortunately, standing in line will not guarantee a tethered flight. There are a number of reasons why the tethered rides are over early in the day. Weather conditions (the wind picks up), low fuel and time constraints are just a few reasons why a pilot will take down the balloon. Most pilots and crew do not want to take the balloon down while there are people in line, but sometimes it is unavoidable. If you see another balloon still tethering, get in that line and hope for the best.