this post was submitted on 23 May 2026
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Microblog Memes

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 105 points 2 days ago (4 children)

From my walk this morning. Buncha crazy mofos up there.

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 55 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I love watching them (safely, with my feet on solid ground)

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 25 points 2 days ago

Took a ride in one once.

You can steer. Just raise and lower the craft until you catch right air currents.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Looks like two of them are about to collide. Do they gently bounce off eachother like in a cartoon, or do cables get caught and twisted and everyone falls to their death?

That looks like a nice apartment complex next to a huge park. Nice neighborhood.

[–] bedwyr@piefed.ca 29 points 2 days ago

It depends on if they are racing or not, which if they are they put those racing spikes on all sides just in case, you know like the Chariots with the blades on the wheels.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

They occasionally do bump off each other, usually during mass ascent at the Balloon Fiesta.

Those are houses. About 2500 sq. ft., two floors, no basement.

It's the biggest park in the neighborhood, mostly grass, plus a dog run area, and a small playground. The three smaller parks get many more visitors than this one. It's a waste of space and water, IMO, because people don't use it very much. Maybe there just aren't many kids near it?

I dunno if you can find the video online, but many years ago, when I was on a balloon crew, a balloon (not "my" balloon) was up when it was too windy, and the envelope collapsed partway, the throat, where the fire shoots up, was closed, and the balloon was falling. Near the end, the pilot in desperation, burned, and snapped half of the cables holding the basket. The basket tipped, and they all fell to their death. So, yeah, like any transportation method, there are dangers.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

That’s some weird construction for single family homes. The one in the middle behind that last basketball hoop looks like it has an open stairwell or shared balcony.

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 81 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

I feel like these guys severely skew balloon safety statistics.

they blew up all the budget for tools, travel and hotels in a giant balloon shaped like their pet.

Lots of questionable choices, but cant deny their dedication to camp.

[–] hitstun@feddit.online 22 points 2 days ago

Team Rocket are actually great pilots! The spots they can get that balloon into and out of are absurd. They can take it seemingly whatever direction they want, with people and critters jumping into and out of the balloon at random.

They could be professional aeronauts, but their boss keeps making them chase a living high voltage hazard and his balloon-wrecking friends.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 28 points 2 days ago

You can actually steer them. Winds go in different directions in different heights.

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 51 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

They are quite safe and you can land pretty quickly if need be, but yes steering is nigh impossible.

[–] tias@discuss.tchncs.de 32 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Not impossible if you know what way the winds are blowing at different heights

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 60 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Yeah thats why i said "nigh". Its not really steering because you cant freely decide, its more like choosing from a limited set of directional options.

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 69 points 2 days ago (1 children)

omg, life is just a hot air balloon ride

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 33 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Just depends how high you are

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 3 points 2 days ago

"Depends. For those times when you're too high to make it to the bathroom."

(For the non-aware, "Depends" are an American brand of adult diapers.)

[–] TheRtRevKaiser@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago

Depending on how things go, you can land very quickly indeed.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

You can stop if you don't like it, but you definitely won't like how. (just jump out)

[–] horse@feddit.org 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Jumping out of a hot air balloon can not just kill you, but also everyone else in the basket.

[–] TheparishofChigwell@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago (3 children)
[–] hitstun@feddit.online 15 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It makes the balloon suddenly get one whole person lighter and shoot up in the air. The pilot has to prepare for this by being in a descent when the jumper jumps out. If the jump is unexpected, the balloon will climb so fast that the balloon collapses, deflating and falling out of the sky.

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Wow, so that would be really rude. I would not have thought it could be so big an issue, but I guess now that I think about it, all I know about hot air balloons is sandbags that you just untie and throw off, which totally cannot be how it works, but I probably saw it in a movie as a child. And I weigh at least like five or six bags of sand.

[–] MeThisGuy@feddit.nl 3 points 2 days ago

the solution is to go Up! with many many balloons so you can pop them to descend.

Interesting scenario..

[–] horse@feddit.org 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

As other people have said, it can cause the balloon to collapse, if the pilot doesn't prepare for it. There's a video on Youtube where a guy explains why it's a bad idea after some dude tried to jump out of his balloon (with a parachute) without permission.

Thx for the input

So if you do jump just do it during descent

[–] TrollTrollrolllol@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (4 children)

You jump out, basket starts swinging wildly from the sudden shift in weight, balloon collapses, basket falls to ground.

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[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago

I just did a hot air ballon ride, it's wild, somehow I made it out

[–] Canopyflyer@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I have taken off in a hot air balloon a dozen times or so....

Not once did I land with it. Even good landings seem to leave some things to luck.

Edit: added forgotten T.

[–] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (4 children)

You never landed? You’re still up there?

[–] Canopyflyer@lemmy.world 26 points 2 days ago

I jumped...

Some say I'm still falling to this day.

In all seriousness, balloon jumps are a unique experience in skydiving... Because you go from dead silence to the rush of air at terminal velocity. Sure you can jump a helicopter that is hovering, but they are louder than airplanes.

Exits from a balloon also tend to catch less experienced jumpers off guard, because you can't fly your body till the speed builds up. First timers tend to flail a little. By the second jump they do just fine.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (3 children)

My guess is skydiving.

Or, tightrope walking?

[–] Canopyflyer@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

I never walked a tight rope. I don't think I could even in my prime.

I exit using a line that was connected at the top of the balloon to swing out and do multiple flips. The rope was really long so you would get a huge amount of speed and fling off the end.

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I wanna know what their game plan is when one of the balloons suddenly loses altitude.

[–] turtlesareneat@piefed.ca 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The balloons were moored down.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

How's this?

Also, in the first picture the walker was blown off because the balloons were tied down. In this picture, the balloons are moving with the wind, so the walker won't be blown off so easily.

That's another thing about being up in a balloon that surprises first-timers, there's no wind, and it's very quiet, when the burner isn't burning.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago
[–] otacon239@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

10 points to anyone who gets this reference

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 days ago

"Moooodddyyyy!!!!"

I've been waiting to post this the entire thread

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Better still, how does taking off in a hot air balloon while you're still in another one work?

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[–] knobbysideup@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

When I skydived I always wanted to do a balloon jump but never had the opportunity.

Lots of aircraft I've never landed in though.

[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] hitstun@feddit.online 3 points 2 days ago

a photo of a tiny skatepark hanging under a giant hot air balloon in the sky; Kriss Kyle is doing a BMX bike trick on it

Kriss Kyle did BMX bike tricks in a tiny skatepark under a hot air balloon. One of my #balloons posts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSVuDBKLC5A https://feddit.online/c/floatingisfun@fedia.io/p/1714852/dont-look-down-by-kriss-kyle

[–] Snowcano@startrek.website 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

And Ben Böhmer did a whole DJ set in one.

https://youtu.be/RvRhUHTV_8k

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