Hot air balloon sales are DOWN over the past decade, and the average age of licensed balloon pilots continues to rise. Why aren't younger people interested in ballooning, Jow Forums? Hot air balloons are an important tradition within American and western culture; it seems weird that young people are simply trashing that whole tradition without a second thought. Does this point to a deeper cultural shift?
Unlike a personal aircraft, a hot air balloon system typically only costs $20-$40,000, about the same as an average new car. Despite that fact, interest among younger people is falling.
Well beyond the fact that I don't want a hot air balloon, the fact that they cost the same as a car isn't really a selling point. I can't drive a hot air balloon to work, and I'd rather just buy a second car.
Sebastian Rivera
Did millennials kill the hot air balloon industry?
Luke Davis
hot air balloons are a part of the big globe conspiracy
Mason Turner
>I can't drive a hot air balloon to work Hold my beer user.
The lack of leisure spending indicates the downward spiral of the economy and the aggregate wealth that the upcoming generation actually has on tap.
There are many other leisure industries that are hurting pretty bad. Give it a few years and they'll all be out of business.
Jose Jackson
Um OP, those fuckers crash and explode
Camden Walker
Signs of a civilization in decline
Gabriel Gonzalez
Cause that shit is gay
Alexander Torres
>let me spend the cost of a new car ON A FUCKING BALLOON I CAN'T DO ANYTHING PRACTICAL WITH
it's just retarded. leave hot air balloons to train-room tier weirdos and boomers squandering their savings so their progeny have no inheritance
Jonathan Hughes
>PAY >US >WAGES No refuge could save the hireling or slave...
Isaac Evans
I can get an old Cessna for somewhere in the range of $12k.
Luis Brooks
Because they cost as much as a car, and are somewhat useless. Probably really expensive to operate/maintain too, no?
Austin Myers
Every dumb ass boomer in my family has a dumb ass expensive hobby like this. I even have an uncle that died in a hang gliding accident. I graduated college in the Great Recession and couldn't find a job, I had to steal hotdogs from gas stations to eat. Now, even with a good paying job, I continue to live cheap like the next economic crisis is on the horizon.
And then what? Do you have a private airstrip and hangar, or are you going to pay hangar fees and other expenses? A hot air balloon can literally be packed up and taken away on a pickup truck with a trailer and stored in your garage.
Actually, you bring up an interesting point - model train sales are WAY down over time. And the model train resale market has been swamped by items from estate sales. However, if you are just getting INTO that hobby, now is a fine time, due to the surplus of equipment for sale.
Do any minorities get involved with the hobby at all?
Luke Sanchez
the big hot air balloon industry is behind the glogbal warming scam they want to sell the idea of their balloons saving people from massive floods
Leo Martin
Yeah, but it's a fucking balloon. Even with hanger fees and annual maintenance it would still take years to reach said balloons initial cost.
Landon Brown
I am pro balloon because my town has a balloon festival that brings in money and is fun to go to. However, I will not be purchasing one. Balloons are for people with hope.
Ian Murphy
You'd never know they were declining in sales here in Albuquerque. The fucking things are everywhere this time of year.
Gabriel Nelson
>Do you own your balloon? no, property of the company i work for (i'm a professional pilot)
>What year(s) were your balloon(s) you fly made? Depends, often around the years 2003/6
>how old i'm 30
>When did you get you licence? 8 years ago
How many hours do you have piloting? 1800
Where is the biggest balloon event in France? Chamblay
What is your annual income? Depends on the years, i'm payed 150€ per flight
Do any minorities get involved with the hobby at all? Not at all, i don't even remember piloting for a nigger once. It's a white boomer thing, and a rich chink thing too (they love to get their wedding pics in a balloon). Most of my customers are americans citizens.
What's the most interesting thing about ballooning that you like to tell others?
For that 150 EUR flight payment, how much time does that take?
Lucas Gray
>model train I used to build terrain for train enthusiasts as a side hobby, and they are some of the most insufferable people to have as a client.
Samuel Murphy
Opportune moment to post this gem.
Ryan Rivera
You are welcome fren
>What's the most interesting thing about ballooning that you like to tell others?
I love to pass 1 inch over the roofs, the trees canopy, the poles. I love to graze everything i pass over :3 It can be spoopy since you always have 9/10sec delay between your actions and what the balloon does, so if you calculated it wrong and you just see it 5sec before the impact, its alrdy too late. I also like how quiet it is, it's really theonly mean to fly in complete silence, i really enjoy it.
>For that 150 EUR flight payment, how much time does that take? 4 hours i would say. One to prepare the material (fill the gas tanks, security check list etc) One to welcome the passenger, tell them how to secure themselves during the ascension and landing (it's way more dangerous than ppl usually think, a lil wind blow and you could end up with deads, most colleagues i know alrdy had dead passengers/exploded balloon/dead friend pilot) and to mount the balloon.
Another one for the flight. Then a last one to disassemble the balloon and get it back onto the truck, take the champagne with the customers.
Then you could also add up between 30-45min to get to the take-off terrain then get back.
Really make you mhmmm. Tho helium balloons exists, they are very rares, and often used for what we call stationary flights, balloons linked to a wrinch and a chain to goes up and down always at the same spot, like in disneyland or montgolfiere de Paris. Also used for weather casts but they aren't any human in it. Tho to be totally honest we pro pilots have to use helium on a daily basis too, we inflate a lil plastic balloon (like the ones you have for birthdays) with heilum and free it before assembling the hot air balloon to calculate the wind velocity, wind direction and see if there are any wind strike and check if the weather forecast predicted it good. Helium is fucking expensive btw.
Camden Lewis
>a hot air balloon system typically only costs $20-$40,000 So about 1-2 years' wages for a millenial.
Colton Anderson
Wait, you have to be LICENSED to operate these? You see this is what's really killing society. Fucking rules and regulations EVERYWHERE making men feel like there's just too much SHIT to go through to do anything amazing, fun, or creative anymore.
Are you joking dude? You literally flight with no security at all in a wicker basket with 200KG of gas in pressurized tanks and don't have any control over the direction you take... Of course you need a license, piloting a balloon is extremely dangerous. Not only for your passengers or yourself, but for everyone on the ground and others planes. You have enough gas to blow up any building.
Andrew James
Is this caused by deflation?
Robert Nguyen
Life is dangerous. Get over it. FOR FUCKS SAKE it's no wonder the world is populated with NPCs and morons, people like YO(U are afraid of falling flaming cylinders of gas so you enact laws to limit "accidents" that traditionally killed off dumb people.
Well thanks a lot, faggot. You and people like you are why I can't legally own grenades and plutonium samples for fun. And I'm NOT kidding.
It’s because Millennial’s who are into expensive nerdy hobbies would rather play warhammer 40k instead.
Luis Murphy
FAA doesn't want balloons fucking with regular air traffic, which might kill people who AREN'T dumb.
Asher Hall
Like, I'm not even kidding here, if the modern world somehow gained factual confirmation that God exists, the first god damn thing the "civilized world" would do is attempt to tax God and force him/it to get a fucking permit to drop lightning bolts(lightning actually strikes from the ground UP, btw).
Jackson Campbell
Cause I enjoy flying planes not balloons.
Jose Nguyen
>FAA doesn't want balloons fucking with regular air traffic Fly over them, retards.
taking a "leisure" ride high above the earth in a basket with a fucking fire blowing up randomly in the middle of it...fuck that noise.
Juan Nelson
It’s expensive as fuck. You will not make money as a balloon pilot. 35k for the balloon, 4 for the basket, and another 6-7 for the license
Joshua Perry
Muslims can't find a way to weaponize them that's worth the investment, so as muslim populations rise the balloon sales fall since there are less whites to buy them for legitimate purposes.
I haven't even looked this up, it's just me applying common sense: google sales trends on large trucks in Europe and the US. Like big rigs for private owners. I guarantee they're selling WELL. See the issue now?
> Its really the only way to fly in complete silence.
Tell that to the reptoide that keeps posting selfies on here.
Michael Kelly
not with that attitude.
Colton Butler
lul I'll spare this leaf.
Brayden Anderson
How much does a balloon for a starter hobbyist cost? Not some Chinese deathtrap, something that will keep together and do balloon stuff. Good manufacturer? Are they worth having shipped or is it better to go get it in person?
Liam Sanchez
How do you stay in that small box and not freak out when you look down? What do you do when passengers freak out? I thought I was hot shit then I rode the Las Vegas Ferris wheel and had a panic attack and that is a large enclosed room. I would never be able to ride in a balloon.
Christian Baker
Rule 1 of "Not being a fucking idiot" •Anything important enough to risk your life on should be inspected in person before purchase.
Dylan Baker
how the fuck do you steer the thing
i dont want to end up on someones roof
Elijah Watson
...and why that's a good thing!
Jacob Richardson
I'm a fa/tg/uy who is big into 40K but I would definitely be a train autist if I had the space for it. Unfortunately I live in a small apartment. I'm going to inherit a substantial sum in a few years and I will buy a big house then convert the basement or workshop into a giant model train display.
Easton Kelly
...
Michael Ramirez
I don't advise you to buy a hobby balloon, like at all. The insurance fees are very high, it's a lot of maintenance, you need a gas station at home which is very reglemented, a 4x4, a trailer,etc, it's a lot of supplementary money you have to sink in, not only the balloon. The license alone is very expensive. Otherwise for a little balloon it's not really expensive, around 12K. You don't have to worry much about balloon makers, there are like 6 companies producing balloons in the whole world. None of them are chineses. Most are based in europe or US.
You are not tied to the ground so you usually don't have vertigo. But it can happen, i myself never had vertigo (otherwise i couldnt do this profession of course) but i once or twice suddently had panic attacks because your brain snap and you think "wtf i'm in a wicked basket 1 mile over the ground and i'm only alive because of 4 thin cables. You just try to get over it and focus on your task. It can be spoopy too when a tower cumulus start to form not far from you and you get aspired in it. If it happen you are dead, you 'll be pumped so high in the sky you will suffocate and freeze at the same time in 300 miles per hour winds and there is nothing you can do about it. But the main danger in balloon are the high voltage lines. They make your balloon explode, you get electrocuted and they are barely visibles.
Isaiah Taylor
Hey man, engineering is Mankind's best attempt at God. Don't knock it.
Why would you do this for only 130 Euros. This is insane.
Grayson Robinson
When a passenger freak out, it will be 100% of the time a woman. You firmly ask her to sit down, shut the fuck up and look at her phone. Most of the time her companion/husband (most passengers are in couple, it's seen as a romantic thing, i never understood why) will try to calm her down.
Evan James
>You firmly ask her to sit down, shut the fuck up and look at her phone You get service up there? Damn better than our phones
Caleb Campbell
>Ballooning Not falling for the balloon Jew, OP.
The only way this could be fun is to place our enemies into the baskets and fire rifles at the balloons.
Thomas Barnes
Well it's a family thing, i'm born in it. But most of the others pilots i know alrdy had one of more customers dying in an accident. They often stop once they get badly injured. Being in the air is not really dangerous, it's the landing who is risky and when 99% of the accidents happen. You have a very big inertia and it's not like in the popular belief, you don't land up straight, but lying down, dragged onto the ground on dozen of meters if not hundreds when it get windy. A 15mph wind looks innocent right? In balloon you are freaking out.
Daniel Butler
>You get service up there?
No but at least she doesnt look outside, she can still play candy crush.
>you don't land up straight, but lying down, dragged onto the ground on dozen of meters if not hundreds when it get windy. This sounds horrible fuck this
Andrew Price
Yeah, they'd rather have zero room for error. Same reason they make it illegal as fuck to shine a laser pointer at an aircraft.
Levi Gonzalez
Last year i had to land while it was windy and 2 passengers didn't respected the security procedures, probably trying to act tough or something. They got ejected at the first impact then the balloon rolled over them. They are still in coma to this day, both of them. And even if they wake up one day they will be tetraplegic.
Samuel Allen
If you gibs me the money. I will buy a hot air balloon.
Carson Wood
That's pretty fucked. I hope the balloon in question was put down for that.
Jeremiah Gonzalez
wrong, just have hot air balloon snipers , snipers riding in a hot air balloon
Luis Cook
Why would it be put down? It's not made in wicker for aesthetic purposes, it's because it can absorb chocks better than any other material. The balloon is still perfectly fine to use.
Eli Flores
Is the hot air balloon the ultimate getaway vehicle?
Asher Hall
>falling flaming cylinders of gas so you enact laws to limit "accidents" >that traditionally killed off dumb people. But the dummy is the one who dropped the flaming cylinder of gas, not the poor sucker who it would happen to drop on and kill
Levi Cook
KEK
Alexander Russell
>no control over the direction you take
Oh hohoh. You are so wrong. Winds change with altitude so going up and down into different winds will give you the ability to roughly steer the thing.
Hunter Phillips
you are literally posting on Jow Forums that alone indicates that there is something very wrong with you your opinion of other people is suspect
Ian Ross
Yeah thats pretty much all. If the wind goes NNW close to the ground, you will go NNW. Thats why its essential to prepare your flight plan using maps, helium test balloons and compass before taking off so you approximately knows where you will land.
Jonathan Brown
Hot air balloons have to be the bottom of the barrel when it comes to private flying vehicles. Much better to go for an ultra light aircraft or a hang glider suited with a little motor for taking, or if you can manage the cost, so kind of small version of an helium airship.
Carter Howard
>kind of small version of an helium airship
worst idea
Jose Lee
So Jow Forums i've been thinking about getting a used hot air balloon recently but don't want to get fucked over by some random, any avid hot air balloon enthusiasts here? Also hot air balloon clubs are the last whiteman only hobby
Jonathan Hall
topkek
Matthew Cooper
>Hot air balloon sales are DOWN over the past decade
it's expensive and basically a waste of money in this economy.
Kayden Perry
Fuck balloons are gay.
But I'd buy and pilot one of those old airships if such a thing could be bought. Like the Hindenburg, those old zeppelins, if you could get a smaller one like the size of a house or something and just has a comfy cabin, yeah I'd do that.
Hot air balloons are mad fucking gay though
Asher James
I have interest in buying a large number of high altitude weather balloons and some old-school WWII-style barrage balloons if you've got them.
Tyler Gutierrez
Our generation is more worried about the cost of living then some faggot baloons.
Logan Walker
fuck off nigger, you post here too you aint clean.
Isaiah Cox
Make a flight from the north pole to the south. Confirm ice wall. Profit.
Leo Hughes
BALLOONKEKS BTFO
Wyatt Young
thanks for all this info pierre, ive learned a lot
Elijah Johnson
boomer shit
Ayden Johnson
Because many people are broke as fuck, and have been for 2-3 decades. It's called slavery, who can afford to have hobbies like that when they haven't seen a decent job their whole adult life for 20 years. Fuck those balloons, I need a fucking decent job. Fuck traitors, bankers, politicians, lawyers, and fuck corrupt Masons.
