- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,610
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 228
If the weather holds on Saturday — cold and with the right prevailing winds — Ottawa balloonist and new grandmother Sandra Rolfe will take off 30 minutes before sunrise from Pineview Golf Course in a quest to fly a world-record distance in a tiny AX-03 hot-air balloon.
Rolfe plans to ride eastward on the winds of an incoming high-pressure ridge in a bid to break the current world record of 59.57 kilometres, held by Julia Bayley of Great Britain.
Rolfe, who works in the human resources department at the CBC and who already holds 28 ballooning records, will fly a balloon built by her flying partner, Bill Whelan, at his workshop in Vankleek Hill. Whelan, 67, who says he “lives, breathes and sleeps hot air ballooning,” explained the skills and the science behind ‘extreme ballooning’ to the Citizen’s Blair Crawford.
Q: Explain the significance of this record attempt.
A: There are three records you can go for in a hot-air balloon: duration, altitude and distance. Last summer Sandra set the duration record for this type of balloon. The old record was 3:25 and Sandra flew for four hours and 20 minutes. She beat it by more than 50 minutes.
We’ve been watching the weather patterns for about three weeks now and this Saturday looks like it could be quite favourable for a distance run.
Q: Describe the balloon she’ll be flying
A: This balloon is really, really small. We can’t use it during the summer. To put it in perspective, the average balloon for recreational purpose holds a pilot and two people and would be 77,000 cubic feet and can carry 1,400 lbs. of gross weight. The balloon we’re going to fly is a called an AX-03 and it’s only 21,000 cubic feet and can carry about 450 lbs.
It’s made of extremely lightweight fabric. We try to take as much weight away as possible, because every bit of weight we take away means we can add more fuel, and fuel is the critical factor.
Q: Is there a basket?
A: What are you sitting on? A chair? That’s what she has, but it doesn’t swivel. She is actually sitting on a bench on top the fuel tank. It’s like she’s strapped to a barbecue.
Q: What about safety equipment. Will she have a parachute?
A: We’ve got fire extinguishers on board. She’s got her seatbelt and a climbing harness in case she has to move around the seat for any reason. But no parachute. The balloon is much bigger than a parachute — as long as there’s not a hole in the top, it’s going to work very well.
Q: It’s cold up in a balloon even in summer, so what must it be like in winter? What will she wear?
A: She’s going to look like a Smurf — you’ll just see her little eyes peeking out. She has a one-piece snowsuit that’s good to -100 C. Her feet are wrapped up in boots that are good to about -75, and she’ll put Hotshots in — Hotshots are a really good friend.
The biggest problem is with her hands because they have to be up above her head because she’s busy flying the aircraft. The instruments are also a problem. We put them in an insulated bag and use more Hotshots to keep the batteries warm.
Q: What else is different about flying in winter?
A: During the summer the burners will come on every 20 or 30 seconds. But this balloon has a very small volume of air that we’re asking to stay extremely hot. The burner is on very frequently, like every three to five seconds. She can’t turn her concentration to do anything else.
If we can get the right air masses, if she can fly for 3 1/2 hours, that would be good. How far can she fly? I’ll ask, how fast is the wind? The higher she can get, the faster she will go. There’s a high-pressure ridge coming in and we have to get in front of it, because that’s where the air is very fast. Normally you wouldn’t fly a balloon up there at those speeds, but we are flying right on the edge. This is extreme ballooning.
Q: So how high is high?
A: It’s about weight and temperature inside the envelope and outside. We know what temperature we want her to fly at, but it took us years to figure that out. We’re going to fly at the upper limit of her temperature range. As she flies higher, she’ll burn off fuel and she’ll get lighter, and then she can fly higher again. The first part of the flight I’d like to see her at 2,000 feet. By the end of the flight I’d like to see her at 5,000 plus.
Q: Why is the temperature so critical?
A: Because the balloon is very, very short, it means the heat plume — this very intense heat — is not that far from the top of the balloon. You can’t keep the burner on for long. You have to keep the balloon very, very warm, but not hot. We’re flying it right on the temperature gauge — right at its maximum limit.
Q: What happens if you exceed that temperature?
A: Things are going to melt.
Q: What governs the launch time?
A: Sunrise Saturday is 7:41 a.m. and we’re allowed to fly 30 minutes before sunrise. That’s the coldest part of the day, one hour after sunrise. We want to fly then and use the morning sun to grab as much warmth as we can. The top of the balloon is black to absorb as much heat from the sun as possible.
Balloonist Sandra Rolfe flies her tiny AX-03 hot air balloon. These photos were taken last year during Rolf’s world record flight for Duration.
Q: Where are you launching from?
A: Our usual site is Pineview Golf Club on Blair Road. Depending on the winds that day, we may go as far north as Cantley or as far south as the Metcalfe area. We should know by noon Friday whether it’s a go or no go.
Q: Where do you think she’ll land? (laughter) Is that the dumbest question you can ask a balloonist?
A: Well, you know … The objective is to get the balloon in the air and get it to a position where it’s recoverable and landable. If we get as far as Maxville, that’s about 60 km. If she can get to the Quebec border, then we’re close to 100 km.
Q: What makes a good balloon pilot?
A: Concentration. And you have to be able to feel the subtleties in motion. When you’re in a balloon you lose all your senses — there’s no up, there’s no down, there’s no left, there’s no right. Everything you use to sense motion and speed is gone. You are the element. So you have to come outside the element and look and feel for other things. First you see it, then you feel it, then you fly it. There’s no steering wheel. We only control up and down and sometimes we can’t even do that.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
Rolfe plans to ride eastward on the winds of an incoming high-pressure ridge in a bid to break the current world record of 59.57 kilometres, held by Julia Bayley of Great Britain.
Rolfe, who works in the human resources department at the CBC and who already holds 28 ballooning records, will fly a balloon built by her flying partner, Bill Whelan, at his workshop in Vankleek Hill. Whelan, 67, who says he “lives, breathes and sleeps hot air ballooning,” explained the skills and the science behind ‘extreme ballooning’ to the Citizen’s Blair Crawford.
Q: Explain the significance of this record attempt.
A: There are three records you can go for in a hot-air balloon: duration, altitude and distance. Last summer Sandra set the duration record for this type of balloon. The old record was 3:25 and Sandra flew for four hours and 20 minutes. She beat it by more than 50 minutes.
We’ve been watching the weather patterns for about three weeks now and this Saturday looks like it could be quite favourable for a distance run.
Q: Describe the balloon she’ll be flying
A: This balloon is really, really small. We can’t use it during the summer. To put it in perspective, the average balloon for recreational purpose holds a pilot and two people and would be 77,000 cubic feet and can carry 1,400 lbs. of gross weight. The balloon we’re going to fly is a called an AX-03 and it’s only 21,000 cubic feet and can carry about 450 lbs.
It’s made of extremely lightweight fabric. We try to take as much weight away as possible, because every bit of weight we take away means we can add more fuel, and fuel is the critical factor.
Q: Is there a basket?
A: What are you sitting on? A chair? That’s what she has, but it doesn’t swivel. She is actually sitting on a bench on top the fuel tank. It’s like she’s strapped to a barbecue.
Q: What about safety equipment. Will she have a parachute?
A: We’ve got fire extinguishers on board. She’s got her seatbelt and a climbing harness in case she has to move around the seat for any reason. But no parachute. The balloon is much bigger than a parachute — as long as there’s not a hole in the top, it’s going to work very well.
Q: It’s cold up in a balloon even in summer, so what must it be like in winter? What will she wear?
A: She’s going to look like a Smurf — you’ll just see her little eyes peeking out. She has a one-piece snowsuit that’s good to -100 C. Her feet are wrapped up in boots that are good to about -75, and she’ll put Hotshots in — Hotshots are a really good friend.
The biggest problem is with her hands because they have to be up above her head because she’s busy flying the aircraft. The instruments are also a problem. We put them in an insulated bag and use more Hotshots to keep the batteries warm.
Q: What else is different about flying in winter?
A: During the summer the burners will come on every 20 or 30 seconds. But this balloon has a very small volume of air that we’re asking to stay extremely hot. The burner is on very frequently, like every three to five seconds. She can’t turn her concentration to do anything else.
If we can get the right air masses, if she can fly for 3 1/2 hours, that would be good. How far can she fly? I’ll ask, how fast is the wind? The higher she can get, the faster she will go. There’s a high-pressure ridge coming in and we have to get in front of it, because that’s where the air is very fast. Normally you wouldn’t fly a balloon up there at those speeds, but we are flying right on the edge. This is extreme ballooning.
Q: So how high is high?
A: It’s about weight and temperature inside the envelope and outside. We know what temperature we want her to fly at, but it took us years to figure that out. We’re going to fly at the upper limit of her temperature range. As she flies higher, she’ll burn off fuel and she’ll get lighter, and then she can fly higher again. The first part of the flight I’d like to see her at 2,000 feet. By the end of the flight I’d like to see her at 5,000 plus.
Q: Why is the temperature so critical?
A: Because the balloon is very, very short, it means the heat plume — this very intense heat — is not that far from the top of the balloon. You can’t keep the burner on for long. You have to keep the balloon very, very warm, but not hot. We’re flying it right on the temperature gauge — right at its maximum limit.
Q: What happens if you exceed that temperature?
A: Things are going to melt.
Q: What governs the launch time?
A: Sunrise Saturday is 7:41 a.m. and we’re allowed to fly 30 minutes before sunrise. That’s the coldest part of the day, one hour after sunrise. We want to fly then and use the morning sun to grab as much warmth as we can. The top of the balloon is black to absorb as much heat from the sun as possible.
Balloonist Sandra Rolfe flies her tiny AX-03 hot air balloon. These photos were taken last year during Rolf’s world record flight for Duration.
Q: Where are you launching from?
A: Our usual site is Pineview Golf Club on Blair Road. Depending on the winds that day, we may go as far north as Cantley or as far south as the Metcalfe area. We should know by noon Friday whether it’s a go or no go.
Q: Where do you think she’ll land? (laughter) Is that the dumbest question you can ask a balloonist?
A: Well, you know … The objective is to get the balloon in the air and get it to a position where it’s recoverable and landable. If we get as far as Maxville, that’s about 60 km. If she can get to the Quebec border, then we’re close to 100 km.
Q: What makes a good balloon pilot?
A: Concentration. And you have to be able to feel the subtleties in motion. When you’re in a balloon you lose all your senses — there’s no up, there’s no down, there’s no left, there’s no right. Everything you use to sense motion and speed is gone. You are the element. So you have to come outside the element and look and feel for other things. First you see it, then you feel it, then you fly it. There’s no steering wheel. We only control up and down and sometimes we can’t even do that.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
