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Balloon Meisters: A Day in the Life of Hot Air Balloon Pilots

UP UP AND AWAY

The Green River festival is just one of dozens of annual hot air balloon festivals across the country where pilots, crew and enthusiasts take to the skies.

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Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast

In the sleepy western Massachusetts town of Greenfield, thousands of festival goers flocked to the Green River Festival this weekend to enjoy music, food trucks, crafty vendors and hot air balloons.

Meeting at dawn to discuss the days plan, balloon pilots—all equipped with an FAA commercial license—and their crew members discussed winds, weather, and what to expect. Paul Sena, the balloon-meister of the festival, spent the day with The Daily Beast, showcasing the ins and outs of ballooning.

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Paul Sena shows other hot air balloon pilots and crew a map of Greenfield, Mass. ahead of the Green River Festival. The launch scheduled for dawn was postponed because of fog and low visibility.

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Balloon crew members drag the cloth part of a balloon, called an envelope, across a field to prepare for inflation.

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Paul Sena walks inside the envelope of his hot air balloon as it fills with air from a fan. The inflation process starts with filling the envelope with cool air, then switching to the heat generated from an open flame, which causes the balloon to rise.

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Inside the cockpit of a hot air balloon: liquid propane tanks, bottled water, gloves, and gauges to measure fuel pressure and altitude.

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Paul Sena inflates his balloon with liquid propane to prepare for a tethered flight. Sena has been flying balloons for 27 years, and works full time ballooning during the summer. In the winter, he works in commercial maple sugar.

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Balloon meister Paul Sena takes flight in a tethered balloon. Most balloons have a baskets made of wicker because it's lightweight, durable, absorbs shock well, and has a nice aesthetic quality.

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A view from a tethered hot balloon ride. Because of early morning fog, pilot Paul Sena decided not to take his balloon beyond a tethered ride.

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Carlos Kebe sports his crew shirt for the balloon "Peanuts 4Ever." Embroidered shirts are popular among the hot air balloon community, each balloon crew donning their own ballon's envelope design.

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Several balloons inflate simultaneously at the Green River Festival in Greenfield, Mass. Strong winds and dark clouds unfortunately hindered most of the balloons from taking flight.

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Crew member of the balloon "The Last Penny" checks the weather forecast prior to a scheduled balloon launch. As the sun began to set and dark clouds rolled in, many of the balloon pilots decided against flying. Any gust greater than 20 mph can overpower a balloon, so conditions must be ideal to take flight.

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Hundreds of festival-goers watch a "glow" - a demonstration of balloons illuminating at nightfall.

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