Thank you for visiting the web site of Berkshire Balloons, one of Connecticut’s oldest and most experienced hot air ballooning companies. The information supplied here is to a help you understand the who, what, when, where and why of coming for one of our daily flights and/or overnight Bed Breakfast & Ballooning packages. If you still have questions after reading through this information,feel free to call us at our office at (203) 250-8441 and we’ll be happy to supply you with more information.

Flight Times

Hot Air Balloon flights are scheduled daily just after sunrise, year-round. Spring and Summertime flights take place at approximately 6:00 a.m., Fall and Winter at approximately 7:00 a.m. The reason for the early launch time is because that is the time of the day when the wind speed is the slightest (less than 10 mph) and the air is the most stable (non-turbulent).

Up until a few years ago we also scheduled afternoon flights before sunset. However, the weather conditions only cooperated approximately 10% of the time. In general it is usually too windy for afternoon flights. That being the case, we concentrate on flights in the morning. The conditions during the morning flights are what most people envision flight in a balloon to be; i.e., serene, quiet, calm, the sun just coming above the horizon, and not much traffic on the ground.

About Your Flight

Our flight length is approximately one hour and the distance traveled is usually between 5-15 miles depending on wind speed and direction at various altitudes. The wind speed at higher altitudes is always a bit faster then that of the wind closer to the ground so at times we cover a good amount of distance.

The altitude during the flight will vary from low enough to pick leaves from treetops to a few thousand feet above the ground. On most days the visibility will allow you to see as far as New Hampshire to the north, Long Island to the south, the Catskill mountains to the west and Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Balloon baskets are by far the best view in aviation.

The flight begins with the crew inflating the balloon in a large field, which takes about 20 minutes. When inflation is complete, pilot and passengers board and slowly ascend into the breeze with our chase crew not far behind. The chase crew follows our flight path in a van to assist in deflating and packing up the balloon at our landing site, as well as returning us to our launch site. After the flight we offer a complimentary traditional champagne toast, a snack, and a set of souvenir wings as a momento of your voyage.

What to Wear; What to Bring

The weather requirements for our flights are a surface wind of less than ten miles per hour and visibility of at least a few miles. Because you are in direct sunlight in a no wind environment in the basket, air temperatures above the ground do not vary much so heavy clothing isn't required unless your flight is during the winter months. Dress in layers for the outdoors and wear waterproof shoes or low-heeled boots since the fields are damp with dew in the early morning. Sunglasses and cameras are suggested--expect to run out of film no matter how much of it you bring!

Where We Are

Our flight locations are in the Central Connecticut and Farmington River Valley, approximately a 1 ½ hour drive from NYC or Long Island, or 2 hours from Boston along Interstate 84. We are accesible from Hartford’s Bradley International Airport or for those of you flying yourselves here, Robertson Airport in Plainville (4B8) is our local airport.

The use of different launch sites offers a wide variety of sights and terrain. The launch site for that day's flight is dependent on wind direction and speed to make the flight path as scenic as possible. We realize that this is probably your first ballooning experience; our goal is to make it unforgettable.