Q:  “Why is weather so important in determining if our flight is a ‘go’ or a ‘no-go’?”

A:  SAFETY IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY.  We determined early in our company’s history that PROFITS and FUN, the other two goals of our company would not happen without SAFETY being at the base of that triangle.  

Much of what determines safe ballooning is found in the pilot’s choice of weather.  At the Lake Geneva Balloon Company we are weather experts with over 10 years of experience with aviation meteorology.  Our Chief Pilot, John Trione has in the past provided weather to competitive events and has been asked to serve as the Weather Officer at The 12th Annual Waukesha Skyfest, a balloon race in Waukesha, WI. July 21st-23rd 2006.

 

Q:  “What is SAFE BALLOONING WEATHER?”

A:  Ideally hot air balloons work in conditions that involve very light winds and stable air conditions.  In layman’s terms, we’d like to have winds on the surface that are less than 8 mph on “take offs” and “landings”, upper winds of less than 20 mph and “thunderstorm free” skies for 100-150 mile radius.  We also need to have a minimum of 1 mile, but ideally 3 miles of visibility on those days when we have a little fog.  

We are also concerned with the physical safety of our guests and for that reason when the Heat Index is above 85 degrees, we will also consider a cancellation.

 

Q:  “The skies are blue and the Weather Channel guy said it’s beautiful out today, why aren’t we flying!?”

A:  First off, we do understand the disappointment with cancellations, especially after several instances.  We don’t enjoy them either because we love flying and it’s what we do.  Our pilots cancel flights based on an understanding of BALLOONING WEATHER which is very specific to the safe operation of our aircraft.  We have years of experience, hundreds of flights and hours of classroom training to fall back on in determining whether to fly or not.  

 

Q:  “You cancelled the flight and it ended up being “flyable” according to your parameters... what’s the deal with that?”

A:  Well it IS the weather.  Even with all of the sophisticated modeling and supercomputers, the National Weather Service is always surprised... the weather does unexpected things!  In our business, we are constantly managing risk in our flight operations and when faced with the “unexpected” we will error on the side of caution... our guests’ safety is never compromised.  Sometimes it means our guests will wait just a bit longer for their flight and we sympathize with their frustration, but it will never affect our flight decision.

 

Q:  “Do you fly in the rain?”

A:  No.  Precipitation in any form is a sign of unstable air conditions which are unsafe for balloons to fly in.  This includes snow.