Hot Air Balloon Ride By Sky's the Limit Ballooning

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Beverly Hills, CA
For Tinka's birthday I took her and her life-long best friend on a hot air balloon ride over Santa Barbara, California, at sunset.


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Our pilot was James Lawson, proprietor of Sky's the Limit Ballooning: https://www.skysthelimitballooning.com/


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This was the most amazing outdoor experience I have ever encountered. Though traveling at 20 to 30 mph, at between 1000 and 4000 feet above ground, we literally felt like we were standing still -- the flight was that placid.

The experience was utterly ethereal and transcendent. It felt like you were rising part of the way to heaven. It was surreal.

Also, it was an incredibly organic and analog and non-mechanical and non-electronic experience. Only air and fire and wood basket and balloon were involved.

It was so completely quiet up there that when James fired the burner, you could hear the sound of the burner echoing in the canyons miles away.

The pilot must have extremely deep experience to understand, among other thermal and aerodynamic factors, the way the rising and cooling ground affects the wind currents thousands of feet up in the air.


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The takeoff and landing can be quite unpredictable and can be quite dramatic, James warned us. Apparently an inexperienced flight team may allow the balloon to go out of control, especially on takeoff. James is one of the very most experienced hot air balloon pilots in the entire world.

This is a highly recommended experience!


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Balloon rides are awesome. The last one we took was in Cairns in Australia at sunrise Three years ago. Breathtaking. The landing was a bit rough though. Too bad they don’t have them in Antarctic, that would have been very cool. Congrats and happy birthday.
 
Happy Birthday to Tinka! What a great ride it must have been!

We have done one over the hills of Cappadoccia in Turkey...it was freezing at 2500ft, but you could just about reach down out of the basket and touch the snow on top of the hills as you drifted silently over. Absolutely beautiful.

And yes, it took several attempts to land because the wind currents were very unpredictable! Finally got down...hot coffee was definitely on order!
 
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What an amazing birthday present Ron, Happy Birthday Tinka!

david
 
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Wow amazing. Happy birthday to Tinka
 
Thank you very much Steve, Joe, Lloyd, David and Kedar!
 
Happy Birthday Tinka!
 
Happy Birthday to Tinka! What a great ride it must have been!

We have done one over the hills of Cappadoccia in Turkey...it was freezing at 2500ft, but you could just about reach down out of the basket and touch the snow on top of the hills as you drifted silently over. Absolutely beautiful.

And yes, it took several attempts to land because the wind currents were very unpredictable! Finally got down...hot coffee was definitely on order!

Yes! Freeeeeeezing!

Those "Smurf villages" were surreal right? Did you stay at one of the cave hotels too Lloyd? :)
 
Happy Birthday, Tinka! Thanks for sharing this amazing experience, Ron!
 
Yes! Freeeeeeezing!

Those "Smurf villages" were surreal right? Did you stay at one of the cave hotels too Lloyd? :)
It was literally the coldest night in 25 years...minus 30 celsius at midnight with windchill

We literally left Istanbul at 5am, took the 3 hour flight, went straight into the balloon, drove around to dinner, and then ran onto the flight and were back in Istanbul around 2am. That's how we typically travel, so no we did not stay over in Cappadocia. ;)
 
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Thank you very much, Jack and Al!
 

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