Flight Paths

The pilot controls the up and down. Mother Nature controls the forwards, backwards, left, right, and speed.

Balloons fly with the wind currents and those currents are constantly changing and often unpredictable. Most flights will offer a fairly consistent direction near ground level and a slightly different, but fairly consistent direction at altitude. Some flights offer the unexpected.

Balloon pilots are required to get a weather briefing prior to each flight, and we use that information to help us determine where our launch site will be. We chose an area of town that would be suitable for landing and then, based on the idea of the wind speed and direction forecast remaining true, we work backwards to find a launch site that will put us near our desired landing area. We use the different wind directions at different altitudes to "steer" ourselves to that area. Sometimes we make it, sometimes we don't, making each and every flight a brand new adventure.

We carry a hand held GPS unit on every flight and it records the path that we fly. Some of those paths are not much more than a straight line, but some offer quite a few unique twists and turns. If you would like to see what we go through in the course of a flight feel free to visit the links below. The paths are shown on Google Maps and can be viewed in standard map mode or on a satellite image showing the landscape that we flew over. A click on the flight line will bring up information about the flight. If you have flown with us, your flight is on there!

In addition to being members of the Great Plains Balloon Club, we are also members of the Kansas Chapter of the Black Sheep Squadron, a group of balloonists who share not only a passion for the sport, but a system of beliefs and goals that encourage anyone interested in ballooning to follow their dreams and keep the true spirit of ballooning alive and well. We also believe that maintaining an active membership in the Balloon Federation of America, a unified voice representing balloonists across the U.S., is a vital step to keep ballooning as an activity that can be experienced by people from all walks of life.

A special "Thank You" goes out to all of the landowners across the country who allow balloonists to launch and land on their property. If it wasn't for your hospitality none of this would be possible. We are at the mercy of the winds and consider ourselves lucky to meet so many wonderful people when we drop in uninvited. We hope you have had a pleasant experience and have some photos and special stories of your own to share with your friends and families.