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00:00Hot air balloons come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
00:04Some are unbelievably creative and others are downright dangerous.
00:08Here are the top 15 most amazing hot air balloons.
00:13Number 15. T-Rex.
00:15They may have well gone extinct many millions of years ago,
00:18but dinosaurs have continued to fascinate us ever since the first fossils were discovered.
00:22It seemed almost inevitable then that someone would make a hot air balloon that was designed after one.
00:28And they chose the most ferocious species of all, a T-Rex.
00:32It's almost 127 feet tall, it's an absolute monster of a balloon,
00:37and it looks incredible as it's floating in the sky alongside others,
00:40almost seeming as if it's about to devour them in one bite.
00:44It was actually one of the first hot air balloons to be developed on a computer-aided design software,
00:49as opposed to sketches on a drawing board,
00:51and this enabled the company behind it to get the smooth shapes and curves of the dinosaur as lifelike as possible.
00:57The result was this towering balloon that's now a regular highlight at festivals around the world,
01:02and is the perfect example of how a balloon design has come a long way
01:06past the traditional pear-shaped ones that are more commonly seen.
01:11Number 14. The upside-down balloon.
01:14The easiest and most efficient hot air balloon designs is a pear figure,
01:18which is the basis for most hot air balloons in the world.
01:21But while you may not think there's much innovation that can be done with such a basic shape,
01:25there's one balloon that turns everything on its head, quite literally.
01:29Created for a European engineering manufacturer as part of a publicity campaign,
01:33this upside-down balloon cost around $75,000 to produce,
01:37and was made alongside a twin balloon that's the normal way up.
01:40They quite often fly together, and means that you might see the normal one first,
01:43then the upside-down one, and think something's gone seriously wrong.
01:47In fact, on his first flight in Bristol, England in 2005,
01:50an ambulance was called by concerned onlookers who thought the balloon had capsized mid-flight.
01:55Despite having a basket at the top, it's actually a dummy,
01:59and the real basket is hidden within the base of the balloon.
02:02This makes it very hard to fly because the view is restricted from this position.
02:06It means that anyone taking into the air has to be specially trained before they're allowed to do so.
02:11Since its creation, the upside-down balloon has been a regular fixture at events around the world,
02:15and has proved to be a resounding success in helping to promote the company that commissioned it.
02:20Number 13. Sky Whale
02:23Originally designed to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Australian city of Canberra,
02:28the Sky Whale hot air balloon has become one of the most famous around the world,
02:32because of its unusual shape.
02:34It was created by sculptor Patricia Piccinini,
02:37who had grown up in the city and is known for her works that incorporate lifelike human shapes.
02:41And as this was her first time designing a balloon,
02:44she approached the challenge in a very different way than normal.
02:47Instead of designing a balloon that looks like something else,
02:50she instead wanted to create a sculpture of a living creature
02:53that could be made with the same materials as a balloon.
02:56She began asking herself, what would have happened if,
02:59instead of evolving to re-enter the oceans like some mammals have,
03:02what if they instead evolved to live in the air?
03:05The result was the Sky Whale, which according to the sculptor, doesn't have wings,
03:09but instead emits a lighter-than-air gas that's collected in its huge udders
03:13and allows it to float in the sky.
03:15With a huge bulbous body, it has what's meant to be a human-like face,
03:19and is said to exist somewhere between the impossible and the unlikely.
03:23At 112 feet tall and 75 feet wide,
03:25the Sky Whale is bigger than most hot air balloons
03:28and can reach a maximum altitude of 3,000 feet.
03:31The material alone weighs more than half a ton,
03:33and it took six workers more than seven months to stitch together.
03:36Due to its size, it's a lot slower to move than other designs
03:39and is particularly difficult to land.
03:41The first flight was in Canberra in 2013,
03:44and it's been somewhat controversial, not just because of the way it looks,
03:47but because of the cost.
03:49In total, it's thought to have been built for a price of around $120,000.
03:53Operation costs would have increased this to more than $210,000 over its lifetime.
04:01With improvements in design technology,
04:03there's virtually no idea that can't be realized in hot air balloon form,
04:07as long as you have the budget for it.
04:09And there's perhaps none as unusually shaped
04:11as the one that's based on one of Van Gogh's most famous works,
04:14his self-portrait with grey felt hat.
04:17An incredible amount of work went into making it.
04:20The first step was to create a high-resolution digital image of the original artwork
04:24before turning that into a 3D model.
04:26This model was then used as the basis for the design of the balloon,
04:29which was sewn into individual panels before they were all combined.
04:33The manufacturers went into so much detail
04:35that every single brush stroke is meticulously recreated,
04:38making it truly one of a kind.
04:41Something like this doesn't come cheap or without consequences, however.
04:44The estimated cost of construction was around $288,000,
04:48and because it's such an unusual shape,
04:50it isn't anywhere near as maneuverable as other balloons.
04:53It has to be flown slowly and carefully
04:55because it doesn't react very quickly to changes in altitude,
04:58which makes all things more nervy when you know how expensive any damage could be.
05:03Still, it's definitely the centerpiece of any balloon show where it flies,
05:06and is a great way to introduce new people to the artist's work.
05:10Even if it does have two complete ears.
05:17In the 1980s and 90s, the race was on between competing teams
05:20to be the first to successfully fly around the world without stopping in a hot air balloon.
05:25And finally, in 1999, it was the team sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Breitling that set the record.
05:31Known as the Breitling Orbiter 3, this was no ordinary hot air balloon.
05:35When fully inflated, it was 180 feet tall,
05:38and to ensure the pilots had complete control over the warm air inside the balloon envelope,
05:42the gondola had six propane burners that were fed from 28 titanium cylinders that were mounted along its sides.
05:49To make the flight possible, designers had to cheat a little to ensure the balloon would stay inflated,
05:53so it wasn't fully lifted just by hot air.
05:56It also contained a helium cell, which when warmed by the sun would expand and give further lift.
06:01Furthermore, because the balloon traveled much higher than normal hot air balloons,
06:04the two-man crew weren't simply sat in a basket beneath it.
06:07The gondola was made from Kevlar and carbon fiber and was sealed at 6,000 feet to maintain pressure.
06:13Nitrogen and oxygen were added to the cabin air,
06:16while carbon dioxide was removed by lithium hydroxide filters,
06:19and solar panels that hung beneath it provided all the electrical power they needed.
06:23In March of 1999, the balloon successfully returned to where it had launched from,
06:27and in the process set the record for the first circumnavigation of the globe by a balloon,
06:32and the longest unre-fueled flight ever, both in terms of distance and time.
06:41People visit balloon festivals around the world to see the skies full of different shapes and colors,
06:46and while the majesty of seeing these calm vehicles floating through the air is a spectacle in itself,
06:51it's always exciting to see novel designs based on popular characters from the world of entertainment.
06:56For one balloon manufacturer, the dream had always been to make something based on Star Wars,
07:01but it proved difficult to meet with Lucasfilm to acquire the rights to do so.
07:05A chance encounter at Fan Wars in 2005 led to a message being sent to the company to ask permission,
07:11and to their surprise, they were given the go-ahead.
07:14Of course, the most recognizable image from the saga to make into a balloon was Darth Vader's helmet,
07:19and work was soon underway to make this a reality.
07:22Built under the codename Head One, so no one would know about its existence until its first flight,
07:27the balloon was finally inflated in March of 2007.
07:30At 86 feet tall, 69 feet wide, and 78 feet deep, the balloon contains an estimated 105,000 cubic feet of hot air,
07:38and weighing 640 pounds, is undoubtedly the biggest Vader helmet to have ever been built.
07:48At the center of the Star Wars saga is the notion that everything in the universe exists in balance.
07:54Where there's darkness, there's always the chance of the influx of light,
07:57and the developers of the Darth Vader balloon realized this.
08:00The rules of the force dictated that there should be a balloon to represent the good side,
08:05so they began working on their next project, a Yoda balloon.
08:08He's a character that's famed for being small and powerful, so this balloon is no different.
08:12At just 62 feet tall, 92 feet wide, and 55 feet deep, and containing an air volume of 60,000 cubic feet,
08:19it's far from the biggest balloon to ever be made, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for with impact.
08:25The expression on Yoda's face was purposefully designed to come across as thoughtful,
08:29and you can tell he's totally focused on flying across the sky.
08:32As was the case with the Vader balloon, the construction of Yoda was kept a complete secret,
08:37and it was only revealed to the world as a surprise in front of a 1,000-strong crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2014.
08:44Since then, both balloons are regularly flown at events around the world,
08:47and are some of the most popular of all for spectators.
09:05When you think of a hot air balloon, there are a few things you normally expect from them.
09:09One thing that seems obvious is that they're full of hot air and fly up into the sky,
09:12but that doesn't always have to be the case.
09:15Amazingly, in 2014, an Australian pilot set the world record for flying a hot air balloon deeper underground than most people have ever been.
09:23To make this record attempt possible, a special small hot air balloon was made that had an iron frame instead of the traditional basket,
09:30and the 70-year-old pilot, Ivan Trifonov, had to sit on top of two gas cylinders that fed the burner.
09:36Of course, it required an ideal location, too, and the chosen site was the Mamet Cave in Croatia,
09:41which has a wide opening at ground level before plummeting 675 feet to the cave floor.
09:47Overall, the flight, which was sponsored by the Croatian Tourist Board, took 25 minutes to complete,
09:51and by doing so, Trifonov set his fifth ballooning world record.
09:55By his own admission, it was a feat that seems impossible to improve upon,
09:59both because of the limitations of how small a hot air balloon can be,
10:03and because there are very few places in the world where it could be attempted that reach deeper than the cave in Croatia.
10:12Because of their size and visibility, once they're in the air,
10:15hot air balloons are the perfect canvas for artists wanting to share their ideas with the world,
10:20and one of the most impactful of all was revealed in 2019.
10:24Designed by American artist Doug Aitken, New Horizon is a 100-foot-tall, pear-shaped balloon that's made from a semi-mirrored material.
10:32The project was commissioned on behalf of the Trustees Art and Landscape Program,
10:36which works with artists across the U.S. to create works in response to their natural surroundings.
10:41Aitken could have done whatever he wanted, but he felt that using a hot air balloon added an element of unpredictability,
10:47and is something that's far more accessible to the wider public than an installation that remains fixed in place.
10:52According to Aitken, the balloon is nomadic and is constantly changing in response to the environment it's flying through.
10:58He worked with scientists at NASA to create the material that reflects everything around it,
11:03and it's also covered in LED lights that are used to illuminate it at nighttime.
11:06The balloon toured through the U.S. during the summer of 2019 alongside cultural activities,
11:11and the response was so positive that plans are in motion to make this an annual event.
11:20Between 1981 and 2011, people traveled to Florida from around the world for the opportunity to see a space shuttle in flight.
11:27Once the program ended, they soon became a distant memory that could only be seen in video footage.
11:32This, of course, doesn't get close to the experience of being there in person, but there is a way you can still see one in the sky.
11:38The world's tallest hot air balloon is called Patriot, and it's a faithful recreation of a space shuttle.
11:44At an astonishing 177 feet tall and 115 feet wide, it's bigger than the Statue of Liberty,
11:50and more than 40% larger than the actual space shuttles themselves.
11:54In fact, you can actually fit one of the legendary vehicles within the envelope of this balloon.
11:58And while it's definitely not as difficult to fly as a spaceship, it's far more complicated than an ordinary hot air balloon.
12:04Weighing almost half a ton, it requires a crew of between 15 and 20 people to inflate it and pack it away, but the effect is incredible.
12:12When the burner is heating the air, it looks like the rockets of the shuttle are firing,
12:16and it has convinced plenty of people that it is, in fact, the real deal.
12:20Patriot regularly flies at balloon festivals around the world,
12:23so if you want the opportunity to see it in the sky, it could well be launching somewhere near you soon.
12:32Ben & Jerry's is one of the most famous ice cream manufacturers in the world.
12:35They've managed to achieve this level of fame both because of their unique flavors and by their unconventional marketing strategies,
12:41one of which involves creating two custom-designed hot air balloons.
12:45The first is a traditional pear-shaped design with the company's logo on it,
12:48but the most impressive one and possibly the most delicious-looking hot air balloon you'll ever see is the second,
12:54which is designed to look like a scoop of Cherry Garcia in a waffle cone.
12:58If this 10-story-high balloon was actually ice cream, it'd be the equivalent of 11.7 million scoops,
13:03which is the same as almost 3 million pint cups.
13:06Both of the balloons are almost 100 feet tall and have long toured the world to fly at balloon festivals
13:11and to host unique visitor experiences where people can try the new flavors of ice cream that are about to be launched.
13:17There was possibly no better way for the company to make sure everyone knew who they were,
13:21and seeing one of the balloons flying miles away would surely make you want to buy some for yourself.
13:30With new design techniques and materials, it's possible to turn virtually any shape into a hot air balloon.
13:35This makes it difficult to know exactly which one is the largest to have ever flown,
13:38but one serious contender was built in 2015 and has been touring the world ever since.
13:43Designed to look just like a superbike, it's unbelievably huge.
13:47Said to be bigger than two basketball courts, it weighs two-thirds of a ton, is 121 feet tall and 151 feet wide.
13:54It took eight specialist seamstresses more than eight months to complete
13:58in a job that required stitching 5,500 individual fabric panels together with more than 50 miles of thread.
14:05It's so big that it requires a crew of up to 10 to prepare it for liftoff,
14:09which is five times that needed for a normal balloon.
14:11And because of its shape, it's far more difficult to land and therefore requires specialist training to fly.
14:16While this might be easily the biggest superbike and driver in the world,
14:20it also compares favorably against the bike on which it was based.
14:23While the superbike has a top speed of 185 miles per hour,
14:26and the balloon travels at a more modest 12 miles an hour,
14:29the balloon is much heavier and has a more powerful engine,
14:32carries more passengers and has a much larger fuel capacity,
14:35and can travel much, much further on one tank.
14:42If you've ever had a chance to go on a hot air balloon flight,
14:45particularly if it was a romantic gesture,
14:47then you'll know the one thing a trip won't be complete without
14:50as you float above the countryside is a glass of champagne.
14:53In fact, the sparkling wine has become so synonymous with hot air balloon travel
14:57that one of the world's most famous producers, Moet & Chandon,
15:00have their very own balloon that's the shape of a cork.
15:02Known as the Spirit of 1743, it's used for various promotional events around the world.
15:07In 2012, for example, it delivered the champagne supplies to the Academy Awards,
15:11which meant that it was loaded with more than a thousand bottles of Moet Imperial,
15:15600 bottles of Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage,
15:18and one very special bottle of Moet & Chandon from 1929,
15:21which was the year the Academy Awards began.
15:24The balloon has become an iconic sight in its own right since its first flight in 1990,
15:29and has flown in at least 21 countries,
15:31including Japan, Russia, the USA, South Africa, and even China.
15:35It's used to pass on the story of Moet & Chandon,
15:38a company that's been producing champagne since 1743,
15:41and is one of the reasons that it's still the epitome of luxury to this day.
15:49Even though, by today's standards, hot air balloons fly by relatively simple processes,
15:53they are the height of scientific progression when the first idea was proposed in the 18th century.
15:58It was the Montgolfier brothers from France
16:00who realized that heated air inside a paper or fabric bag could make it rise,
16:04and they showed their discovery in a marketplace in June of 1783,
16:08where their unmanned balloon rose 3,000 feet before gently landing again.
16:12A few months later, they repeated their experiment in Paris,
16:15but this time the first ever hot air balloon passengers were on board,
16:19a sheep, a rooster, and a duck.
16:21Again, this test went exactly as planned,
16:23and it wasn't long before they found two pilots who were brave enough to be the first humans on a flight.
16:28Surprisingly, little has changed from their original designs to the ones we use today,
16:32which shows just how well thought out their ideas were.
16:35But, of course, their original balloons haven't survived the test of time,
16:38because they were made from fabric.
16:40Recently, however, enthusiasts have recreated the original Montgolfier balloon in all of its glory.
16:45First revealed in 2013 at the Chateau d'Aix Balloon Festival in the Swiss Alps,
16:50it was an exact replica of one of the brothers made more than 230 years ago,
16:54and you can only imagine what people at the time must have thought when they saw it lifting off into the sky.
17:03The most famous fictional hot air balloon in the world is undoubtedly the one used in the Pixar movie Up,
17:09which was used by Carl Fredricksen to explore the world.
17:12Of course, in the film he moved his house by inflating it and attaching hundreds of individual balloons,
17:16and while this isn't exactly feasible in the real world,
17:19balloon enthusiast Simon Askey created the next best thing.
17:22He designed a hot air balloon that's covered in images of multicolored balloons,
17:26and also has 600 small balloons sewn into the outer skin to make it look like a giant bunch.
17:31Surprisingly, the hot air balloon that he's used for is actually one of the smaller models,
17:35which contains 84,000 cubic feet of air,
17:38but even though it's far from being the biggest at the festivals it travels to,
17:41it gets one of the best reactions from the crowd.
17:44It took six months to sew together,
17:46and was done in collaboration with Disney to ensure that it was as close to the original designs as possible.
17:51Keeping in theme with the movie, instead of having a traditional basket beneath the balloon,
17:55he's adapted it to look like the house,
17:57and the resulting effect was so impressive that on its first flight through London,
18:00it made headlines throughout the world.
18:02It immediately became one of the most must-see balloons,
18:05with invites from all the major festivals.
18:07But there's one place the owners dream of flying it the most,
18:10the Angel Falls in Venezuela,
18:12which were the inspiration behind the movie in the first place.
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