160, 77, 210, they are not just numbers for us. They are also balloons, wonderful creatures with their own essence, a character, their own particular way of being.
To get into the technical details, the number written on the identification plate of each individual hot air balloon represents its volume expressed in cubic feet; for example, a balloon called 160 is equivalent to the volume of 160,000 cubic feet, which transported in cubic meters are 4500. An expert pilot can recognize from afar in broad outline and by eye the dimensions of a balloon that is not his. And he also knows more or less how many people it can carry; a 160, for example, can comfortably carry up to 6 people, in the winter.
It is therefore normal in our company to hear someone refer to a certain ball by calling it with a number; today what do we use, 210?
But 210 also has a name here: DOLLY. And it's female...
Yes, because with these creatures, you fly, some pilots with just one, others changing several balloons during the season. During a year I can fly with four or five different balloons. And every time you change balloons you immediately feel the difference… Perla, the 160, is smaller and more nervous; Dolly is a tame pachyderm; Obelix is capricious, you must not get distracted because he lets himself go and is not easy to catch.
And after a while you fly with it, you enter into symbiosis and you start to communicate; before departure, when it is still lying on the ground, we call the whale, you caress it. Just like that, as if to say: “I love you; come on, let's have a nice flight…”
Find out more about our hot air balloons here: https://giroinmongolfiera.com/chi-siamo/
