• Rivalarrival
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    3 days ago

    Hot air balloon pilot here: We do, indeed.

    This is a “Cloudhopper”. It’s a hot air balloon with no basket: The pilot straps a propane tank to his back and wears a climbing harness. As you can see, the pilot is, effectively, walking on water with the assistance of the balloon.

    Cloudhoppers are about 20,000 to 35,000 cubic feet, 40-50 feet in diameter. They are about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of most of the balloons you might see at a fair or festival.

    • otacon239@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      This is the coolest shit I’ve seen all month. Just when you think the world is running out of interesting ideas, you come across something like this and realize you will never see it all.

      • Rivalarrival
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        3 days ago

        You can’t get a balloon pilot’s license without a formal diagnosis. :)