How Much Does a Hot Air Balloon Weigh?
After their hot air balloon flight, many passengers ask us: how much does a hot air balloon weigh? Once the wonder of the flight has sunk in, plenty of questions come up, and we try to answer them through this blog.
One of the most common is how much the balloon weighs, and, like many others, the answer depends on its size: depending on size, a balloon can carry more or fewer passengers, and its weight varies accordingly.
The balloon we use most for passenger flights at EoloFLY carries 8 passengers. It is one of the smallest used for this purpose, which lets us offer a highly personalised service tailored to each customer’s needs. This is a big difference from other balloon companies that use balloons for 20 passengers or more, where such personal attention is much harder.
Calculating the weight of the aircraft
Going back to our question, the weight of the parts of our 8-passenger balloon is:
- Envelope (the balloon fabric itself) 172 kg
- Basket (for 8 passengers and a pilot) 160 kg
- Burner (double system) 21 kg
- Gas cylinders (fully loaded) 200 kg
Total weight of the complete balloon 553 kg
So how much weight does a hot air balloon lift at take-off?
To find the total load at take-off, we must add the variable weight of the passengers and the pilot to this fixed figure. Taking an average weight of 75 kg per person, the 9 people on board add up to 675 kg, which lets us answer the question.
How much does a hot air balloon weigh?
Adding the 553 kg of the aircraft and the 675 kg of the people on board gives a total take-off weight of 1,228 kg for the hot air balloon.
Find out more about hot air balloon flights at:
EoloFLY Hot Air Balloon Flights
