Balloon Bonanza!

Every October, the skies above Albuquerque, New Mexico, fill with color. It’s the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the world!

Each year more than 500 pilots bring colorful balloons in outrageous shapes, from pirate ships to haunted houses. No matter their shape, all hot air balloons work the same way. Here’s how they stay afloat.

The skies above Albuquerque, New Mexico, fill with color every October. That’s when the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes place. It’s the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the world!

More than 500 pilots bring colorful balloons in wild shapes each year. They include everythingfrom pirate ships to haunted houses. All hot air balloons work the same way no matter their shape. Here’s how they stay afloat.

Hot air balloons have three main parts (see Balloon Basics). Pilots and passengers ride in the basket. The colorful part that fills with air is called the envelope. Attached to the bottom of the envelope are burners powered by tanks of propane, a type of gas.

To take off, the pilot lights the burners, which produce a 3.7-meter (12-foot) flame. As the air inside the envelope warms, its molecules move faster and farther apart. Soon, the air becomes less dense, or has less matter in a given space, than the air outside. The balloon lifts off! The upward force that allows the balloon to float is called buoyancy.

Increasing the flame causes the balloon to rise—as high as 910 meters (3,000 feet)! To descend, the pilot opens a vent, releasing hot air through the balloon’s top.

Hot air balloons have three main parts (see Balloon Basics). Pilots and passengers ride in the basket. The colorful part that fills with air is called the envelope. Attached to the bottom of the envelope are gas burners. They’re powered by tanks of propane. That’s a type of gas.

The pilot lights the burners to take off. That creates a 3.7-meter (12-foot) flame. The air inside the envelope warms. Its molecules move faster and farther apart. Soon, the air becomes less dense than the air outside. That means it has less matter in a given space. The balloon lifts off! An upward force allows the balloon to float. That force is called buoyancy.

Adding more heat causes the balloon to rise. It can go as high as 910 meters (3,000 feet)! The pilot opens a vent to come down. That releases hot air through an opening in the balloon’s top.

In the air, the real challenge begins. “You don’t really steer a balloon,” says Caryn Welz, president of Albuquerque’s hot air ballooning association. “It goes where the wind does.”

In Albuquerque, a regular wind pattern helps pilots control the balloons. Cool air from the Sandia Mountains blows south at a low elevation. Warm air rises and blows north. Pilots fly low to go south, then rise higher to travel north.

For Welz, the best part of ballooning is watching a new passenger take in the 360-degree view. “You don’t get that in a plane!” she says.

The real challenge begins in the air. “You don’t really steer a balloon,” says Caryn Welz. She’s the president of Albuquerque’s hot air ballooning association. “It goes where the wind does.”

A regular wind pattern blows over Albuquerque. It helps pilots control the balloons. Cool air blows from the Sandia Mountains. It moves south at a low height. Warm air rises and blows north. Pilots fly low to go south. Then they rise higher to travel north.

What’s the best part of ballooning for Welz? It’s watching a new passenger take in the 360-degree view. “You don’t get that in a plane!” she says.