Why a Cloudhopper?

by John Ninomiya

Just Me

Flying by youself may be one of the one of the greatest unrealized pleasures in ballooning. Undeniably, sharing ballooning with awesruck first-timers and faithful crew is a wonderful thing. So is flying by yourself. Many pilots get to solo only as required for their license; otherwise, having recruited several crew people to help them set up an aircraft that will clearly accomodate several additional passengers, most pilots are justifiably shy about proposing that they should fly alone. With a Cloudhopper, the crew requirement drops to one person -- or, if you have balloonist friends who will pick you up after they fly, you may not need your own crew at all. Flying by yourself becomes practical. Unless you're really pathologically gregarious, you probably enjoy some occasional time by yourself, and with a Cloudhopper, you discover that flying a balloon is a wonderful way to spend that time.

On a Clear Day

The first thing you notice when you get into a Cloudhopper is -- that there's nothing to get into. You're wearing your harness; the fuel tank is out of sight behind you. Overhead is your burner and your balloon; everywhere else around you is the earth and the sky. You can see everything. You're not "in" a vehicle -- you and your balloon are part of the sky. Ultimately, a Cloudhopper harness becomes the most comfortable and natural way to fly: when you go back to flying with a basket, you find yourself thinking how dangerous it is not to be strapped in securely to your balloon.

At the Hop

One of my favorite things to do with my Cloudhopper is to drop down into a large open field where there's a gentle breeze blowing. I let my feet touch the ground. Pushed by the wind, the balloon leans out ahead of me. I jump, rising and swinging under the balloon. If I've timed it just right, when I reach the forward part of my swing, my feet touch the ground again. I let the balloon swing in front of me again, and jump. In that way, I move along at the speed of the wind in giant twenty-foot leaps. It's challenging to get the timing and the force of your jumps coordinated to the wind speed, but when you do, it's exhilarating, and totally unlike any other flying experience you'll ever have.

For a more technical discussion of Cloudhoppers, see the Cloudhopper FAQs Page.

A Note on Terminology

I've used the term "Cloudhopper" generically here -- it's what the earliest systems of this type were called, and is the name still used by several manufacturers. Generically, I'm talking about small, solo, degondolized (basketless) hot-air balloons. The term "hang balloon" is also sometimes used -- which is not particularly descriptive (all balloons carry payload "hanging" from the envelope) and sounds like some type of capital punishment. Anyway, I use the term "Cloudhopper" in an enlightened, inclusive way -- if you fly a small balloon without a basket, consider yourself included!

My Cloudhoppers

I have two Cloudhoppers: Dancer, a Thunder & Colt, and Fascination, a Lindstrand. Dancer is a 21,000 ft3 system with a ten gallon fuel tank. Fascination is a 31,000 ft3 system wih a fifteen gallon fuel tank. Below are some photos of my Cloudhoppers.

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Fascination, Bare Hill Pond, Harvard, Massachusetts (cover photo, Balloon LIfe)


Dancer, Afternoon flight, Del Mar, California	At the Hop!	Over the clouds, Roxbury, Connecticut


In an orchard, Tracy, California	Eagle in a tree, Chatfield Reservoir, Denver, Colorado	Dusk, Del Mar, California	Climbing the Red Rocks, Gallup, New Mexico