• dgmib@lemmy.world
    941·
    6 months ago

    For the record, yes you need a pilot’s license to fly a hot air balloon.

    And yes the “balloon police” (aka the FAA in the United States) or their equivalent governing body in other countries will stop you, and fine you.

    • Ottomateeverything@lemmy.world
      19·
      6 months ago

      Yeah, this. FAA does give a fuck. A lot of people fly drones extremely illegally but they’re too small for the FAA to notice or bother with, and most of them can’t get to real dangerous heights anyway. But try flying near an airport and you’ll find out real quick.

      I still haven’t figured out if people just aren’t aware that it’s illegal or if they’re just too brazen. I think it’s the former but not really sure.

      • spfhaar@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        from me all the FPV pilots I know don’t have the license, because it’s very difficult to do because they are almost all the same things that a real airplane pilot needs to know,

        Also I have seen FPV 6S drones at maximum speed even in densely populated areas always exceeding the legal limit of 120m if they had a license

        • Ottomateeverything@lemmy.world
          1·
          6 months ago

          First of all, the “licensing” is kinda tough, but I wouldn’t call it “very difficult”. You could learn it all in a few days.

          Secondly, you don’t need the “license” unless you’re flying commercially. Flying as a hobby has like a page of material to read and like a 5 question test with a few rules to follow, so that’s far from an excuse.

          Thirdly, FPV has probably the hardest rules because you literally can’t see the sky so they require you have someone with you to call stuff to you… Which no one fucking does, so FPV is by far the worst offenders.

          Also I have seen FPV 6S drones at maximum speed even in densely populated areas always exceeding the legal limit of 120m if they had a license

          This type of shit is why the FAA is forcing regulations across the board, including towards manufacturers, to have tracking on who’s flying what and from where, which is going to start butchering the hobbyist communities. This is fucking brain dead and dangerous and people that do this shit are asking for accidents and the reason why we can’t have nice things.

          • spfhaar@lemmy.worldEnglish
            11·
            6 months ago

            I’m not in the US, I don’t know how FAA operates. In my socially ridiculous country it’s called ENAC and the difficulty is similar to that of a car license in terms of the level of knowledge required, and it’s an infinite bureaucratic stress like any non-mainstream license, only those who do it for work do it.

    • blackn1ght@feddit.uk
      5·
      6 months ago

      The FAA are an American organisation that only has jurisdiction in the USA, so no they won’t unless you do it in the USA.

      • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
        1·
        6 months ago

        Though that last paragraph does apply in many places outside the US. Sometimes it’s even the US military responding outside of the US (I mean I assume they protect the airspace around their bases, but I guess I’m not really sure what kind of jurisdiction they’d have just because they have a military base).

  • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
    29·
    6 months ago

    They will shoot you down with planes if you fly into the airspace of the state. Generally you can get away with it short term as long as you live a reasonable distance away from an airport, military installation, or weather radar.

    Otherwise, sort out your estate before fucking around and finding out with the air authorities.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      2·
      6 months ago

      I crewed for a hot air balloon place in high school. The wind once blew two balloons right over the airport runways. ATC was not happy, but those things go where the wind takes them.

      Of course, those were licensed pilots.

    • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
      8·
      6 months ago

      Reaching almost 5000 meters is very impressive, and I love the plan of popping the balloons with a BB-gun to control the descent. I’m almost annoyed that they fined this unique effort.

        • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
          1·
          6 months ago

          I don’t think there was a plan B. A lawn chair strapped to 42 balloons doesn’t seem like a project without single points of failure.

  • byroon@lemmy.world
    22·
    6 months ago
    1. I don’t need a license to fly this balloon. I do what I want.
    2. Stupid balloon police chasing my balloon in their stupid police cars.
    3. Check out this move. I fly out over the sea. Balloon police can’t follow me. I am never seen again
  • The Barto@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    131·
    6 months ago

    My country town is really into ballooning, so there’s always a bunch of balloons flying around here and there, so no one would even notice an extra one floating around, unless you were a dick and flying low.

  • NegativeLookBehind@kbin.social
    9·
    6 months ago

    I went in a hot air balloon once. Basically, once you’re up in the air, the wind takes you….where ever. It’s only controllable on one axis at that point. And the flame is fucking hot.

    • Neato@ttrpg.networkEnglish
      8·
      6 months ago

      Yeah, I always wondered how the fuck you don’t crash into a building, forest or get swept out to sea. I guess you just pick really still wind days.

      • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
        14·
        6 months ago

        From what I’ve read the wind can point different directions at different altitudes, so you can navigate a little bit by changing your altitude, depending on the wind conditions.

        • frezik@midwest.social
          1·
          6 months ago

          Used to crew for a hot air balloon company, and that’s correct. Also, we never flew when the wind was over 10 knots, both at ground and altitude.

          You also don’t want the wind to be too still, because that’s just an elevator ride and you don’t get to see anything. Makes it easy on the crew, though.

        • Abnorc@lemm.ee
          1·
          6 months ago

          I was told by someone who worked at a company that does balloon flights that winds are somewhat predictable, so they launch balloons in a way that gives them a decent margin of error to account for fluctuations in the wind.

          If it turns out that you have to land in the middle of the highway or some dangerous location like that, there is enough time to anticipate that and get in touch with the authorities to have that area blocked off.

      • key@lemmy.keychat.orgEnglish
        6·
        6 months ago

        I think the main way is by not launching upwind of buildings, forests, or the ocean. And don’t launch when a weather system is coming in that would change wind patterns. Wind is usually fairly predictable.