S E P T E M B E R / O C TO B E R 2 0 1 3 21 Accordingly, passengers assemble around sunrise, which is between 5:30-7:00 a.m., depending on the season of year, and they are usually in the air within an hour of sunrise. Gondola capacities range from two to twenty passengers. Reportedly, the world record for altitude in a hot air balloon is 64,997 feet. “We fly at altitudes generally between 1,000 to 3,000 feet depending on the winds, and the flights usually last one to two hours,” said Gabe Gundling, the new owner of Napa Valley Balloons, the original hot air balloon company in the Valley. If the idea of 3,000 feet in a wicker basket smaller than a room makes you queasy, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. The baskets do not sway, and because the balloon and gondola move at the same speed and direction as the surrounding air, “There is no sensation of motion when in flight,” explained Kimball. “You feel like you are Photo by Bob Barbarick part of the atmosphere rather than being pushed through it.” It feels exactly like you’re standing still on an open-air porch—except the porch is a sturdy basket, and you are looking at a bird’s eye view covering at least fifty square miles. Even passengers with prior anxiety about heights find that they are comfortable, and more than one has declared later that the experience permanently strengthened their tolerance for heights. It is not uncommon for marine fog to enter the Valley during the pre-dawn hours at any time of the year. Since the fog rolls in within hours of launch time, every day requires a last minute, on-the-spot decision about flight logistics and launch location. Based on real-time weather and wind reports from meteorological stations ranging from Lake County to Mount Tamalpias, the decision of when, where, and if to launch is made at dawn. On days when fog on the Napa Valley floor prevents flying from Yountville or Calistoga, the balloon companies have contingency launch sites that are located further inland, away from the coastal fog. The secondary flight corridor for Napa Valley Aloft originates in Pope Valley. Sometimes they fly southeast towards the Pope Valley Airport, and sometimes they fly south over Howell Mountain to the Angwin campus of Pacific Union College, a distance of about four miles. The secondary launch sites utilized by the other Yountville companies include Winters, a beautiful agricultural area with all sorts of orchards and row crop farms, where it is possible to fly the balloons further and higher. On days that are foggy in Calistoga, Calistoga Balloons launches in Middletown, on the east side of Mount St. Helena. On days when the sailing is clear in Napa Valley, all of the Yountville-based balloon companies work together as they drift southward at different altitudes. They share flight and wind information in real time so that all can land safely at their intended destinations. It is not unusual to see a dozen balloons flying together over Napa. Napa Valley Opera House “Basically, if I can get off the ground, I’m happy.” – Jay Kimball, Napa Valley Aloft Photo by Stephen Ferry Photo by Forest Woodward
NVLife_SeptOct_2013
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