Orlando Hot Air Balloon Rides

Posted on by Thor

We got up at 5:30 AM on a Sunday morning and drove down to Davenport Florida to experience an Orlando Hot Air Balloon Ride. This was a birthday present for Pam Schwartz. We often prefer experiences rather than things. We pulled up to what must have once been a Waffle House next to the highway. Inside we had to fill out releases and other paperwork. We were told that we must arrive on time, but people arrived late anyway.

Everyone then piled into the Orlando Balloon Rides van and we drove out to a a tiny dirt road that cut through a field. We got out of the truck and I immediately started to sketch a balloon being inflated next to us. We were herded like cats so I could not stray far. The balloon next to us was inflated rather quickly and efficiently. It was up in the air before our balloon was half inflated. Since the subject of that sketch had floated away, I turned my attention to our crew struggling to inflate our balloon. The flame in that sketch is actually a ripped piece of paper that came  up off the back of the opposite sketch because I closed my sketchbook before the paint was dry. I lived with the mistake and painted it yellow.

One person pulled a chord attached to the top of the balloon to keep it elongated at it was blown up. Since the balloon took so long to inflate, I had time to sketch the action. Our pilot sat in the basket keeping it weighted down and two assistants kept the mouth of the balloon open as the flame heated the air being blown in with a fan.

There were three separate compartments in the basket and each couple was assigned a quadrant to stand in. The center compartment was reserved for the pilot. Once we were all in place there was a final blast of flame which I think singed what little hair I have left. We floated towards the trees at the edge of the field and I thought for a moment that we might not clear the tree top. We slipped quietly over the highest branch clearing it by inches.

Dozens of balloons dotted the sky as the sun rose. We passed over a circus elephant refuge but non of the elephants were out and about. News footage showed the elephants are still handled with bull hooks. Fields created a crisp checkered pattern. The serine experience was interrupted periodically by loud and hot bursts of flame. We floated towards Wallaby Ranch where hang gliders were starting their morning flights. A motorized pilot plane pulled a hang glider behind it and they both lifted off into the sky. They circled together gaining height, and then the attachment wire was released leaving the hang glider to soar silently.

We were told we would land at Wallaby. The pilot specifically didn’t want to land near the air strip but that ended up being precisely where we landed. We had to de inflate the balloon as quickly as possible since gliders were waiting to take off and the morning breezes can die down as the day drags on. A tourist woman kept taking selfies and primping her hair the whole time as everyone else helped break down the balloon and load it in the van. Pam gladly pulled the weight of two men. Overall, a fun experience for locals or folks visiting Orlando.

Orlando Balloon Rides

$199 for adults and $125 for kids.

Duration:   Allow 3.5 hours from the time we meet until we return to the meeting location.

Flight Time:   You will be in the air 45-60 minutes or longer depending on weather.

Occupancy:   16 passengers max. each.

Wallaby Ranch.

Posted on by Thor

Wallaby Ranch (1805 Deen Still Rd, Davenport, FL 33897) is the first full-time Aerotow Hang Gliding Flight Park in the World. Open seven days a week since 1991. Flying in a hang glider at Wallaby Ranch is exhilarating, but much of the thrill comes from the anticipation and camaraderie even before the wings take to the sky. Air currents are best in the morning, so we were encouraged to get up at the break of dawn. Breakfast and coffee were available at the barn and everyone sat at the picnic tables chatting until the currents were just right. Malcom Jones, who founded Wallaby Ranch, has flown more tandem flights than anyone else in the world. He knows how to read the current and is known for never taking any unnecessary chances.

My flight took off without a hitch, but by the time we got back to the ground, Malcom had decided that the winds had changed making it unsafe for other tandem flights to take off. I got to experience the quiet thrill of soaring and seeing a rainbow encircling the shadow of my wings in the clouds. I was at the ranch to celebrate Pam Schwartz‘s birthday and unfortunately, she was grounded. She did get to take flight the next day and was equally impressed with the experience.

Most of the fun at the ranch happens on the ground, meeting new people who share a passion for flight. There is a pool that became mission central for much of the afternoon as people relaxed and soaked to stay cool. Pam and I took to the pool almost immediately upon arrival to watch the sunset. Once the sun went down, horse flies and dragon flies buzzed my ears causing me to flail and destroy the peace. In the evening, everyone gathered in the barn for dinner, games and music. We played a rather risque word game that was fun to play with strangers. One player would read a card that set up a situation and then each player had to put in their own card that they felt was the most funny or inappropriate way to finish the thought. You could tell if your card had worked if everyone else laughed at the result. When my card was read each time, I swear you could hear crickets chirping. I didn’t win.

Guitar and harmonica music set the tone for the rest of the evening and everyone sang along. The feeling of community being among people who fly is intoxicating and I can understand how learning to fly solo can become an obsession. 20 hours of tandem flights are needed before a pilot can fly solo. I heard that it is possible to stay in the air for hours if the winds are just right. My flight was video recorded from start to finish with a Go Pro camera mounted on the wing. It is amazing to relive the experience from the comfort of a couch.

Hang gliding at Wallaby Ranch.

Posted on by Thor

The last week of May was a birthday week celebration. I went to Wallaby Ranch with Pam Schwartz the curator at the Orange County Regional History Center. The ranch, (1805 Deen Still Rd, Davenport, FL 33897) is located a short drive from Orlando. As soon as we exited Deen Road into the drive, a sign overhead announced that we had arrived. The plan was to stay in one of the tiny cabins, called hooches) for the night and then fly at the crack of dawn the next morning.

Oliver van Dam Merrett greeted us and drove us around the property in a golf cart. There is a huge hanger full of hang gliders and a dozen or so hooches, a pool, volleyball court and a central barn gathering area where pilots congregate before and after the flights. Nikki Meir had helped me make arrangements for the day and she introduced us to her new puppy named Larry. Since it was late in the day with little wind, folks were grounded. We decided to watch the sunset from the pool.

The next day we got up before the sun to the sound of a plane engine firing up. We were rushed out to the field which acts as the take-off area and several guests were strapped in and went up before “Tom!” was called. I kept sketching since I’m used to answering to “Thor”. People kept gesturing my way and it finally dawned on me that I should get up. I tripped over a puppy (Larry) on my way to my hang glider. Within seconds, I was signing my life away and then, Malcolm Jones, the ranch owner strapped in beside me. Malcom is said to have had more safe flights that anyone else in the world. Central Florida is a great place for hang gliding because the coastal winds meet in the center of the state and rise. People come from around the world to fly here. You strap in by stepping into what looks like a sleeping bag and then you lie down suspended from support straps. A small yellow plane was latched by rope to the front of the hang glider and before I had time to get nervous, we were quickly accelerating across the field. The wheels left the bumpy ground and we were up.

The ground gradually slipped farther away. The plane kept circling the property gradually gaining altitude. I saw another hang glider take off below me and assumed it must be Pam getting the same experience. Then the strap to the plane was released and we were on our own. We glided in silence and Malcolm said to me, “Welcome to my office.” The experience wasn’t what I expected. The was no gut wrenching thrill, but instead a simple peace as we glided over the gorgeous landscape.  A reservoir was in the distance and the properties were neatly divided into a grid. Light wisps of clouds floated below us and our hang glider cast a shadow onto them. That shadow was surrounded by an amazing circular rainbow. I have never seen anything like it before. The, we circled and went right into one of the clouds.

I was told to let go of the steering bar in front of me for a moment and the hang glider stayed steady. “See, it flies itself” I was told. Pulling back would slow us down, edging the nose up, and pushing forward accelerated us as we glided down. Pulling left and right of course circled us in those directions. The ground was slowly getting closer. I spotted Pam on the field, and she waved to me. I was told later that we hung in the air motionless for some time above the field. Malcolm took control of the glider and guided us, landing belly down on the field.

Pam had not gotten to fly yet and we were told that with the winds picking up, the flight would need to be canceled for the day. They don’t take chances at Wallaby, they know good flying conditions and do not push the limits for safety’s sake. We decided to stay one more day in the hooch and Pam was the first person in the air the next morning. Evenings feel like a relaxed camp outing with friends as we sat in the barn and played games while several guests got out a guitar and sang. The pool saw plenty of use in the heat of the day and some pilots hung out under the large live oak trees to exchange flying stories. I can see how this could become an addictive lifestyle. You need to go up on 20 tandem flights before you can fly solo and Wallaby offers lessons from some very experienced hang gliding pilots. This was truly an experience of a lifetime.