Ballooning as a hobby: One-man balloons explained
Published by admin on November 16th, 2008 in General, Hot Air Balloon Flights, Adventure Balloons, Hopper Balloons
Hot air ballooning as a hobby, has grown very popular over the past few years and because of advances in technology and materials, ballooning has become even cheaper and safer than ever before.
One of the most common hot air balloons used by hobbyists are one-man balloons, because they are small, light and cheaper to run. Also called cloudhoppers or hopper balloons, a one-man balloon as the name suggests holds one person, but instead of a balloon basket, the pilot is strapped into a harness that has a propane tank attached to it.
One-man balloons are usually much smaller than passenger balloons, ranging between 14,000 and 35,000 cubic feet in size, and the average time it can fly for can be up to 1.5 hours, depending on the weather and wind conditions.
Ideal for the hobbyist or professional balloonist, the one-man balloon is generally flown for recreational purposes, but many companies are now turning to them to provide a unique advertising platform, which is both cheaper to run and quicker to launch than a standard balloon.
