What are the two biggest factors that determine the life of a balloon?  Heat and UV.  Next time you take your balloon out to fly fold it over in half and compare the colors in the top of the balloon to the colors in the bottom of the balloon!  I bet you see a difference.

Always keep in mind that the flight time (Hours) of the balloon also effects the life of the balloon.  We all know we should not over heat the balloon! But have you really thought about FLIGHT TIME? The second killer of balloons is the UV exposure?  UV is nearly as big a threat as the flight time..

HOURS OF LIFE: First lets talk about the life of the balloon.  For this example we will assume that a balloon will last 600 flight hours. 

Pilot "JOE" goes out and flies one full hour each time he flies.  His balloon will only last 600 flights.

Pilot "SUE" flies only 59 minutes on each flight.  She is going to be able to make 610 flights before her balloon is worn out!

Now lets apply some $$$ to this situation.  Lets assume that each passenger pays $300 to fly in the balloon.  Lets also assume that each flight has 4 passengers on board. "SUE" is going to bring in an extra $12,000 on her 10 extra flights.  Now start applying those numbers to flying 2, 3, 4 or even 10 minutes less on each flight! 

Pilot "MIKE" flies 40 minutes on each flight and he gets an extra 200 flights out of his balloon (20*600=12,000 minutes) (12,000/60=200 flights) over the 600 hours of life.  When each flight generates $1,200 that extra 200 flights brings in  $240,000! More than enough to purchase all new equipment when his balloon is worn out. 

Moral of the story about flight time is each minute saved can generate $1,200 over the life of a balloon.

Now lets talk about UV.

We all know that the top of our balloon wears out first!  This is partly due to the heat but another factor, that is just as deadly is UV.  That fabric in the top of the balloon fades over time because of the UV.  It also looses strength because of the effect of UV.  Here is a great experiment.  Take a piece of balloon fabric and staple it to a fence outside.  You will see that after a month that fabric will look like someone poured bleach on it.  The color will fade and the strength will also deteriorate. This is due to the UV exposure.  If that fabric is only out in the sun 8 hours a day at the end of the month it will have endured 240 hours of UV yet it will look like it has flown over 600 flights.  It will not pass the annual.  THAT IS WHAT UV does to your balloon. 

So what can I do you ask?  PACK IT UP FAST!  When you land get your balloon in its bag as quickly as you can.  Every minute it is out in the sunlight is a minute longer UV exposure.  That sun is taking the life out of your balloon just as fast as if you were flying it!  When you hit the ground pack it up!  If you can take your envelope bag along with you when you fly that will give you the ability to pack up even if your ground team is not there yet.  If the ground team has the bag, deflate and pack up as quickly as you can. 

I have witnessed first hand pilots who let their balloon lay out in the field for 30 -40 minutes while they messed around with the passengers or the bottom end.  Meanwhile the SUN is sucking life out of their envelope!

Protect your investment.  

All my best!

Jeff