Hexacopters and hot air balloons over Canberra!

Thanks everyone! Comments are appreciated.

catada said :

where is the Hexacopter?

Right behind the camera… 🙂

where is the Hexacopter?

When I went ballooning a few years ago (in Canberra) the landing was really soft, we hardly felt it, the pilot was very skilled. He could put it down wherever he wanted. He even flew it onto the back of the truck. Maybe it was good weather. It was very beautiful and special, but be prepared that the fire blast thing is very loud.

I did a balloon flight during the Balloon Fiesta a few years ago.Excellent experience!

The “Pilot” (This is the correct term) actually touched the basket onto the surface of the lake and skimmed across it.

The landing was a bit rough but was totally outweighed by the rest of the experience.

Jivrashia said :

Holy crap…

I thought they were having an emergency during the descent, with the way they were hovering so close to the rooftops of houses.
That’s supposed to be normal?

Damn, I think I’ll strike ballooning off my To-Do-B4-I-Die list.

It’s pretty normal I think – balloons generally don’t have a soft landing despite the floating around part being so gentle and peaceful. In my experience anyway.

Last time I was in one we landed in the little grassy bank next to the National Archive. We clipped the hedge as we came down (made a bit of a dent in it) which was a bit jarring – wasn’t expecting it! You really do need to get down in the basket and brace yourself! According to our balloonist (is that the right term?) the landing is usually the most dodgy part as they pull the chute and release the air at a certain height and they come down mighty quick!

My FIL (who admittedly has a flying phobia) often tells a story about a wedding he went to in the states where the bride and groom took off after their vows in a balloon. They then when on to have a very rough landing in a freshly ploughed field and the basket tipped and dragged them a short way as it was quite windy. No major injuries from his account, just a few bruises and scratches but it filled the basket with dirt and wrecked their clothes before the reception! Probably need to take it with a grain of salt but not a great start to wedded life!

But that’s why Canberra is one of the best places to go ballooning. In winter the crisp mornings create great conditions – very little wind so it limits the chances of you getting dragged like that.

OP: Great video – I love the time lapse!

curlylocks said :

I love these Hexacopter videos, fantastic as always.

+1

Holy crap…

I thought they were having an emergency during the descent, with the way they were hovering so close to the rooftops of houses.
That’s supposed to be normal?

Damn, I think I’ll strike ballooning off my To-Do-B4-I-Die list.

I-filed said :

I’ll take this as a tribute of some kind to the nine charred bodies still lying in a field north of Wellington.

My apologies if the above is meant to be a positive comment but it doesn’t read as such.
I was flying at the same time and it was not until after we landed that we were informed of our friends accident in New Zealand.
Any human death is a tragedy and our thoughts go out to the Pilot Lance Hopping’s family and the family’s of the 10 passengers that died.
It is a tragedy that will deeply affect the Wairarapa community for years to come.
The ballooning community both in New Zealand, Australia and further abroad are in shock.

The accident will be investigated but it won’t bring friends and family members back.
A sad day.

I love these Hexacopter videos, fantastic as always.

I’ll take this as a tribute of some kind to the nine charred bodies still lying in a field north of Wellington.