Aborted Landings
People often misinterpret aborted landings on the
ground as buzzing or rude flying. Sometimes landing
sites seem to be elusive. A typical situation has the
pilot descending to land at an appropriate site, but
the pilot has miscalculated the winds below and the
balloon turns away from the open field toward a
farmhouse. "Oops, got to go back up and look for
another landing site," thinks the pilot. What is the
farmer on the ground thinking? The farmer sees the
balloon descend, turn towards the house, and then,
with noisy burners roaring, zoom back into the air
and proceed. A perfect case of buzzing. The pilot
was not being rude or evil, just inconsiderate,
inexperienced, or both. The pilot did not mean to
swoop down to buzz the house; the wind changed.
Had the pilot watched something drop from the basket
to gauge the winds below, or been more observant,
the pilot would have known the balloon would turn
towards the house as it descended. A squirt of shaving
foam from an aerosol can, or a small piece of rolled
up tissue could have told the pilot of the wind change
at lower altitudes.
Two or three of these swoops over a sparsely
populated area, and people on the ground may not
only think the pilot is buzzing houses, some people
may think the pilot is having a problem and is in trouble.
That is when the well-meaning landowner calls the
police to report a balloon in trouble.
Flying too close to a house (your friends house, for
example) to say hello, dragging the field, giving people
a thrill by flying too low over a gathering, are examples
of buzzing, which is illegal and can be hazardous.
Identification of Animal Population
Balloonists must learn how to locate and identify
animals on the ground. Even though it may be legal to
fly at a certain low altitude, animals do not know the
laws, nor do most of their owners. If you cause dogs
to bark, turkeys to panic, or horses to run, even while
flying legally, you may provide legitimate cause for
complaint.
Flight Direction
Balloon direction change usually comes with altitude
change. Balloon pilots ascend and descend looking
for different winds, a procedure most people on the
ground do not understand. A good citizen, meaning
to be helpful, may call the police or fire department,
thinking a balloonist is in trouble; many authorities
assume calls are only from upset or threatened people.
Some disadvantages of low flying are: the noise may
frighten animals and children; the balloon shadow
may spook livestock; people may think the balloonist
is in trouble; the balloon may hit tall obstacles; the
pilot has less time to correct or adjust for a mechanical
problem; the pilot is more likely to be distracted when
flying low, when a distraction can be most hazardous.
The particular pleasures of contour flying can best be
enjoyed in a balloon. It is wonderful to fly at low level
over the trees, drop down behind the orchard; float
across the pond just off the water; watch jackrabbits
scatter; and see sights close up. No other aircraft can
perform low-level contour flying, as safely as a balloon
and in no other aircraft is the flight as beautiful.
Contour flying can be great fun, but remember that
the balloon should always be flown at legal, safe, and
considerate altitudes.
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
All balloon pilots should have basic knowledge of
correct radio procedures as airspace is getting more
complicated, and aviation radios are required in many
areas. Balloon instructors should be teaching aviation
radio procedures to students because it is specifically
required during practical tests.
Aviation radios (VHF) may be used for
communications between pilot and control tower, pilot
and AFSS, air-to-air (pilot-to-pilot), or air-to-ground
(pilot-to-crew), and to get information from Automatic
Terminal Information Service (ATIS) and Automatic
Weather Observing System (AWOS). Only specific
frequencies may be used for each type of
communication. [Figure 4-2]
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