Learning to fly
Table of contents
To become a hot air balloon pilot
It is required to complete classroom and flight instruction with a licensed flight instructor.
Hot air balloon flying class instruction
To get a hot air balloon pilote's license, you'll need to know about:
- instruments and technical components of the material
- their preparation and maintenance
- their use in flight
- the safety and navigation constraints
- the emergency procedures
- the radio communication system
- the specific conditions of captive, mountain, long distance, night, international...flights
- the characteristics and use of gas( propane, helium, hydrogen...)
- the assessment of meteorological and atmospheric phenomena
- the general ballooning regulation and specific provisions
- human physiological and psychological factors
Flight instruction
Taught and reviewed by a flight instructor, the flight training covers:
- pre-flight operations
- technical operations such as unfolding, inflating, deflating, folding and storing the various components of the balloon
- piloting (ascend, descend, take off, level off, approach of landing and landing...)
- the implementation of emergency procedures
- the proper use of radio-telephony equipment
Flight hours requirement
The student pilot must ascend 12 times and have at least 16 flight hours including 2 solo flight hours at an altitude higher than or of 1000 meters.
The licensed pilot is allowed to take passengers onboard after 35 flight hours as pilot-in-command.
