Hot Air Ballooning as a hobby is one of those activities I’ve never really considered. It seems like a lot of fun and I’m assuming that champagne is drunk each time you’re aloft as there doesn’t seem to be much else to do once airborne except pull the “make fire” toggle.
I was surprised to learn that balloons can be bought secondhand for under $10,000 USD and new ones can be made to order for around $20,000 USD, accidents are very rare and many balloonists actually make a handsome living by taking tourists up for scenic flights on weekends.
If you’d like to learn more about ballooning, click the link to check out APEX Balloons, if you live in the UK visit Cameron Balloons.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The PBY Catalina one of the most famous seaplanes in history, over 3,300 were built between 1936 and 1957, and many of them saw active duty during the Second World War. So versatile was the Catalina that they served every branch of the United States Armed Forces, and were used extensively by the armed services…
The Spidi Beta motorcycle jacket is a new design from the Italian company designed specifically for people who want a full array of protection when riding, without looking like a stormtrooper. Spidi pride themselves on their Italian design heritage, and it shines through on jackets like the Beta that look like the sort of thing…
This World War II training film covers pilot familiarization with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, one of the most prolific and beloved fighter/bombers of the war. The P-47 Thunderbolt was famous for two things – they were almost impossible to shoot down, and they carried enough firepower to take out trains, tanks, trucks, and armored vehicles…
The BSMC x Ethen Cafe Racer Goggles are a collaborative effort between The Bike Shed and the Italian goggle specialists at Ethen. Eye-protection is an exceedingly important thing for motorcyclists, when riding we’re essentially throwing our faces at 70 to 80+ mph down a highway, so even just colliding with a stationary housefly will cause…
This B-17 Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engine table is built from a decommissioned R-1820 engine – this is the motor that powered every wartime example of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Douglas SBD Dauntless bombers as well as countless other aircraft, armored vehicles, and tanks including the M4A6 Sherman and the M6 Heavy Tank….
The 90th Anniversary Schott Perfecto Jacket was developed to celebrate 90 years since Irving Schott designed America’s most iconic leather motorcycle jacket – this anniversary edition was created by the 3rd and 4th generations of the Schott family. The Perfecto The original Perfecto Jacket was named for Irving Schott’s favorite cigar type, the jacket was…
