Jumping from an air balloon at 12,000! this is something I would really like to see.

I’ve read the Sean post on flying an air balloon to 12,000 feet with two pilots and three jumpers and I couldn’t decide if it is as crazy as it sounds.

Anyway I’m officially jealous. I can’t even imagine reaching such high altitudes with an hot air balloon let alone jumping from one.

Hot air balloons can come in all colors and forms as the story of Bob Romaneschi clearly shows.

The sky is the limit so to say and actually if we think about it there is no limit to the creativity and freedom of the human spirit.

I’m a big fan of hot air balloons I find them to be so very beautiful and such a wonderful way of sight seeing. I particularly love festivals as the presence of so many balloons in one place creates a mixture of color and feeing that is unbelivable.

For me they are an art as much as they are a very unique tool that has to answer the technical requirements of a functioning ready to fly hot air balloon.

What can I say they are magical.

Whenever you plan and even promise someone, usually a child to take him on an hot air balloon especially in the UK you better prepare yourself to the wind having its own way.

Balloons over Britain are so used to the cancellations due to wind conditions that they provide people with the option to take the planned flight at a later date from other locations.

I suppose that in windy states this “insurance” is part of good service but it can work only for big enough companies that can offer many locations for balloon flights.

When you’re on vacation and plan a flight on hot air balloon either check on location with the operators and if the weather bad there won’t be flights anyway or reserve flight with a big enough company that can give you alternatives when the weather goes bad.

If you are traveling in different parts of the world you might enjoy going to some cool air balloon festivals. Personally I like seeing the festivals that are held in Asia as they are the most colorful and creative as was the Malaysia Balloon Festival on May.

You can find dates and links to other fun air balloons festivals here.

Just to let you know a little more on the atmosphere on a hot balloon event here is a video from the festival  at Albuquerque, New Mexico last year

Just read at The hot air ballooning blog that German brewery Warsteiner is going to send hot air balloons to the sky at the Olympics 2008.

I enjoyed seeing them at the Euro 2008 soccer games and would probably enjoy seeing theirs balloons in China too.