• _thebrain_@sh.itjust.works
    9·
    2 hours ago

    Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis taught me that hot air balloons are extremely easy to fly and to steer. I won’t believe anything else unless it is in a better point and click adventure game. Hint: there is no better point and click adventure game. Day of the tentacle comes close but doesn’t beat it

  • Fleur_@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    2 hours ago

    It’s actually possible to navigate longitude and latitude by just going up and down. It’s how spy balloons traverse.

  • Canopyflyer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    4 hours ago

    I have around 6 take offs in a Hot Air Balloon.

    Never landed. Jumped, deliberately, out of each one.

      • Canopyflyer@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 hours ago

        I’m in the USA, so a BASE rig would be illegal to use from a Balloon. Any jumper exiting from an aircraft must carry two parachutes, one of which is packed by an FAA Certified Senior or Master Rigger. The other chute must be packed by a Senior, or Master Rigger, someone under the direct guidance of a Rigger, or the person who would be jumping the chute. BASE rigs typically do not carry a reserve as there typically isn’t enough time to deal with malfunctions.

        To specifically answer your question, yes I used a sport skydiving rig. The lowest was from 2500 feet, so essentially I pulled my pilot chute right as I exited the basket (at least that’s the story I tell). I’ve jumped from as high as 5k on other balloon jumps. Early in my career I jumped a Sunpath Javelin J2. Later I had a Sunpath Odyssey. The only BASE jump I’ve ever made was off the bridge in West Virginia and even that was using a sport rig where the main parachute was modified with a mesh slider and a BASE pilot chute.

        My favorite was being the only jumper going up. There were 4 or 5 other passengers plus the pilot. She took off from the DZ and the DZO told her if she used his airport, yes he owned it, then she had to take at least one jumper up. No one else was ready to go, as it was really early in the morning, so I got to go. The eyes on those passengers when I jumped… Oh man you would have thought they were seeing someone killing themselves. I was probably safer than they were.

        I’ve been retired from skydiving since 2006.