You must be in the Southwest somewhere.
Random Pictures Thread
- Thread starter ripjack13
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Yes, this is in Canyonlands National Park. Day before was in Arches, tomorrow to Capital Reef.
You shoulda put a cigarette lighter next to it to verify size. 
................... Nubs
................... Nubs
Good point!You shoulda put a cigarette lighter next to it to verify size.
Looks like it would be a perfect choice for a bonsai tree
These 2 have done better in their cracks in the rock, or maybe they’ve just been around longer.
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Is that Bristlecone Pine?
Don’t really know.
He's closer today than yesterday. Probably launched over by the Fairgrounds, approx 5 miles away. Always really early in the morning - I suppose for calmer conditions. It's interesting the Fairgrounds are almost adjacent to the airport so I wonder what kind of permissions this guy has to get to avoid being run over by a 737.
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It's cooler in the mornings, so the hot air made by the hot air furnace stays hot longer. ............ Nubs
got to disagree with you nubs.
Density altitude is the reason early morning flights are preferred. When I’m taking off from a high altitude airport in the morning, the altitude the airplane performs at is closer to the actual altitude when the air is cool. In the afternoon, an airport at 6,000 feet may have a density altitude of 9,000. Performance decreases with increased altitude. For a balloon, the temperature differential comes into play. Hot air is less dense than cooler air and as you know, that’s why hot air create lift. Aircraft also perform better in denser air and the air is more dense in cooler air.
The air also has less turbulence when the sun hasn’t heated the ground and there are less thermals which gives a smoother ride.
Density altitude is the reason early morning flights are preferred. When I’m taking off from a high altitude airport in the morning, the altitude the airplane performs at is closer to the actual altitude when the air is cool. In the afternoon, an airport at 6,000 feet may have a density altitude of 9,000. Performance decreases with increased altitude. For a balloon, the temperature differential comes into play. Hot air is less dense than cooler air and as you know, that’s why hot air create lift. Aircraft also perform better in denser air and the air is more dense in cooler air.
The air also has less turbulence when the sun hasn’t heated the ground and there are less thermals which gives a smoother ride.
Ok , Webb, come to Tucson in August, and if you can find a Balloon pilot to give you a ride at that time of year, I'll pay for your trip out here. The sun beating down of a balloon surface is going to cancel some of the lift the heater creates, giving the balloon a whole lot less lift if it even gets off the ground.
The cooler Winters are why all those balloon festivals are scattered across the country.
I get what you're saying about planes and altitude plus air temps. Sometimes, planes that are that are supposed to land in Phoenix, at 1135 feet, in the summer months are diverted to Tucson, approximately 2500 feet, because our temps are about 5-10 degrees less than Phoenix. It doesn't happen often, but since living here, I recall it's happened at least 3 times. ............ Nubs
I don't know and it would be best to ask a balloon pilot but I suspect it's 90% based on calmer conditions to they can better plot and control their flight path. But also the temperature differential is probably a factor - the difference in temperature between the air in the balloon and the ambient air is greater when it's cooler, so the balloon has more lift. Don't they hold a giant balloon fest down hear Tuscon - or is somewhere else? I've seen photos of dozens of balloons in a desert environment somewhere.
I can with confidence say, that both you and nubs are wrong about one thing.
The temperature does not directly affect the lift. The density of the balloon relative to the atmosphere does. The inside of the balloon is heated to decrease the density of the balloon as a whole. When the outside temperature is higher, the difference in density decreases and lift goes with it. But it is completely possible to decrease the density by other means. Such as filling the balloon with a gas with low density. H2 or He are common choices for balloons. He is used when humans are involved due to its inert nature. H2 can explode.
Also @Nubsnstubs some balloons have a black surface that automatically heats the inside of the balloon in sunny conditions thereby circumventing some of the effects of warm sunny weather.