Hot Air Balloon in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Speed Of The Wind

Regularly every pilots have to to tell their passengers or their sponsors that it is too windy to fly. About 90% of them don't understand how much the winds can do to the flight. There is the limit for flying the balloon safely. So many times we hear the expression " I wish I was down there " after he said " I wish I was up there " and he decided to fly.

We can tell the speed of the wind by looking at some signs in the surroundings as like smoke or flag.

Beaufort Wind Scale

The Beaufort Wind Scale will be helpful in estimating the wind speed by observing the conditions around you.

Windspeeds of up to 10 knots present few problems while flying balloons, but above 15 knots or so they become a problem. Not only is the speed greater for landing, but the balloon becomes less controllable because of the turbulence airflow.

Thermal conditions make for difficult ballooning, but when large towering cumulus or cumulonimbus are present only one course of action makes sense - stay on the ground.

Beaufort Scale
Effects	Description	Beaufort Number	Wind Speed
Effects	Description	Beaufort Number	(m/sec)	(kph)	(mph)
Air calm. Smoke rises vertically	Calm	0	< 0.5	<1	<1
Direction of wind shown by smoke drift but not by wind vanes	Light Air	1	0.5-1.5	1-5	1-3
Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; wind vanes moved by wind	Light Breeze	2	2-3	6-11	4-7
Leaves and small twigs in continual motion; wind extends light flags	Gentle Breeze	3	4-5	12-16	8-12
Raises dust, loose paper; moves small branches	Moderate Breeze	4	6-8	20-29	13-18
Small trees in leaf begin to sway; white crested wavelets form on inland waters	Fresh Breeze	5	9-10	30-39	19-24
Large branches in motion; umbrellas used with difficulity; telephone wires "whistle"	Strong Breeze	6	11-13	40-50	25-31