those on the ground are responsible for the ones in the sky together they are a close knit team. it all started in the late eighteenth century a balloon with two passengers in the basket was launched from a paris suburb one pm and fifty four minutes on november the twenty first seventeen eighty three was piloted by. unlucky day long after flying across the french capital they landed safely in another suburb twenty minutes later the king of france for stowed them the title of count being the first humans to fly in the air and granted them the right to hand it down to successive generations of balloonists. since then anyone going up in a balloon for the first time has to pass an initiation ritual to be awarded the title of count by the pilots.

because that she was which elements do you know. really earth water fire. what else in. the air rights of the us were gone through all of them today we took off from earth and flew in the air of well that's for water there's lots of it on the ground and in the air and of course we're going to have taken off without fire. of. fire is the main driving force of any hot air balloons the first timers have their hair ends burnt as a sign of respect for fire champagne then comes into play as a symbol of water that is used to extinguish the flaming has finally the initiated tell the head sprinkled with the earth as a good luck charm for future flights. the

first balloon launch in russia came exactly twenty years after the french debut in eighteen zero three a balloonist from paris flew a russian balloon passenger over moscow according to one theory emperor alexander the first but ordered the launch he wanted to know what such aircraft cruising those designed for warfare were capable of doing in the mid twentieth century ballooning was no longer popular in russia almost no military balloons have been in use after world war two yet ballooning today remains a recreational activity for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. p.r.c. gorski russia's oldest spa resort today it is popular among both russian and foreign balloonists you find both mountains and lowlands the city is just over one thousand

five hundred kilometers south of moscow mt elbrus europe's highest point is only seventy kilometers away the mountain stands nearly five thousand five hundred meters above sea level. the first ballooning competitions in the caucasus were held here russia's southernmost region that was in the mid one nine hundred ninety s. a pilot had to be a professional to stay. keep it at the right altitude you can never tell how the air currents are going to behave with. only nine pilots turned up for the inaugural event thirteen years ago nowadays it is an international festival that attracts both russian and foreign balloonists the aim is to restore former glory. vitale. is a former air force pilot on the first. the crew holds him in high respect who was

the first russian take the risk of launching the the antarctic. balloon that featured the colors of the russian flag from we went to paris. from there on. finally we reached our destination in chile most city. number of stations belonging to the united states very many people in high places outside our country from the presence of russian blueness they're extremely objectionable. before we arrived in chile. we were able to fly to king george island but only after two failed attempts. in the end with winds of eighty meters a second. before everything that could be broken was broken.

only four men in the world including myself have ever launched balloons in the antarctic. it. was trained by. one of the first balloonists in the former soviet union has been chief referee at every balloon competition in russia found he. the country's first on a factoring company russia has a total of forty professional balloonists that make frequent flights. each exercise is performed within a radius of two hundred fifty meters other balloons start trailing behind the hair a minute later. before reaching the referee tells contestants what they're supposed

to do just like with passenger aircraft balloons a check for any technical folks prussia taking off alexander's wife there are a shared his passion for flying she was six years old when she first saw a balloon since then her cherished dream must been to pilot one. everyone can purchase the payson. no matter how old you are parents are welcome to come here with children very many men bring their wives along their money but they don't come here is simply to look around and go for right now they help a lot. now. says the building in competitions she recalls them a new visit wind speeds and alternative flight paths and schools them accordingly. the first balloon to go up for stubborn it is a heads up as soon as it touches down the pilot will allow to crawl some the ground the jump on the pilots is to keep him mark as precisely as possible. the first

building to go up is called the heading blueness lingo it is piloted by the judge then the other contestants need to mimic its maneuvers preaching it all moving away . only few pilots can cope with such difficult competition the professionalism of the as a couple the title of aero good. of russia but aloneness founded russia's first company money fracturing balloons aleksandr made his first balloon in the late one nine hundred eighty s. it's lining born inscription saying the first soviet made mungo feel. ballooning has gained enormous popularity in russia in the past two years this can be seen from the growing number of orders for balloons placed with our company.

itself i don't think the shape of balloons or even the wicker baskets is going to change the balloons of the future or will offer a more comfort to inflate pilots. things like better navigation smoother knobs and delicate thin cords instead of course ropes tools when getting entangled . sensors will give way to radio signals reporting temperatures inside the envelope . and all that will be mainly intended for the spectators the balloons are most likely to look like the ones built by the brothers. for a long time to come. all it had was a basket and a burner. one tank costs full two minutes after that it should be changed should be two tanks at

all times one of them an active duty and the other as a backup. to . this right here is where the baskets are born these tubs are filled with water. the liquid is used to soak willow. canes are here. but we are using rattan pam to make of this particular basket today on the gumball . used to give school children physical education. he was a teacher by calling and dre even held a scientific degree for fun he decided to weave. it today he's head of

a company which makes much larger. in the old days we used to make. today. poly used it's more popular because it's more practical it's imported from europe and southeast asia. process takes three or four hours the material is not put to any particular test to see whether it is ready for processing but then i don't need any i just bend it to see whether breaks or not. it's a simple as that if you've just. ok let's get down to work with. craft with a long history it was all the rage a nineteenth century russia well it was used to make all sorts of things from furniture and suitcases to hunt bags and toys the traditional craft somewhat faded in the twentieth century but it is being revived today although this is

a slow process only a few workshops can handle major deals involving with a work. family now a days basket wickerwork barely differs from its french origins the same technique has been used for hundreds of years i have seen how they do it in the czech republic and in germany their methods are very much alike. andrei shares his team's motto there is no place for unimportant things in aviation busk it's a made in strict conformity with blueprints the job takes three days on average every small detail is important from the ropes to the framework few women are found in this trade men's hands a stronger. lashley our products retain the warmth of our hands. no i'm sure but if you are in a good mood while waving a basket the result is

a good product. culture is that so much the same thing which of course is what kind of comes here to facebook's initial public offering is being called a very big deal and many hope the i.p.o. will lift the entire tech sector but is the. least slow. the

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a no holds barred global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on. the close up team has been to the hub. where the country's middle starts its way across the ocean. now our team goes to the area. looking to a different character to represent itself. for local businesses are striving to build the aviation capital of russia. and for the four by fours are made and should be tested to the limit. welcome to the. russia close up on. the envelope is the most important part of the safety of all those on board depends on its quality design is make a computer model of the believe. once the blueprint is finished they use it to cut the palm of material these are used to make parts.

is a seamstress by trade twenty years ago she worked as a table is making dresses and overcoats when ballooning got a new lease of life she switched to the ambitious task of making balloon envelopes elaine has ballooned several times including flights. making. last balloons during the festival and. it was a very long time ago i even flew over the kremlin and it was so much fun. such fine some back. to back in one thousand nine hundred one or one thousand nine hundred two. it was an amazing. hello. says that's a nice piece of material and so easy to handle. qualities of primary

importance in our business what's you think of intentionally messed it up so you fall out of the sky. never absolutely not a great job very well done. the company repairs the existing diligence as well as making new ones that receive several damaged envelopes a month this part of the balloon is subjected to wear and tear more often than others after the envelope is repaired and the new one is ready to test start. off is the main believing tester at the factory none of the balloons made by the company will be launched unless he gives the go ahead. our best gets met european standards. they were not as good in the old days but now they're russia's best. true i can't afford to pay the price but.

i would buy one if they were not so expensive it. is a veteran russian air and he's been involved with aviation for fifty four years. the boom design of the training he's built seven of them with his own hands. first took up ballooning when he was fifty three years old he looks forward to celebrating his seventy fifth birthday in flight the contest balloons at any time under any conditions one hundred flights a year is a minimum. if you could see that flying is old weazened blissful whatever the conditions. of his enormous position. in the balloon is in working order as it should be his hopefully will get no complaints from the guys in about us.

this is not what i call flying. in general i don't see being tethered is the definition of fly only with the out there who truly flying. a hot air balloon can only be in free flight during the day time it's a common rule. in the world the bus good has to touch down before sunset. unlike balloons in free flight attendant balloons are allowed to be launched even in the dock in that case the burner illuminates the balloon from the inside. pilot's referred to this phenomena. as the good organizers of the past festival of balloonists came up with the idea for the spectacle to attract tourists.

current simply have to go early morning is the best time for taking to the skies the convoy of balloonists normally starts out at five o'clock in the morning to head towards the starting line. the success of the flight primarily depends on the wind no matter how skillful the pilot might be balloonists good weather forecasts and reports about the force and direction of the wind from ground control safety services but then there is a simpler way of determining the winds direction the whole crew takes part in preparations for a flight normally it's includes four people a technician carries out checks to satisfy himself that the balloon is in working order.

our good flights. balloons are raised into the sky by the pilot and the navigator but whether the crew will get home depends on those who stay on the ground. once a balloon lands the crew has to be retrieved from the spot. sometimes inexperienced teams responsible for retrieval can't find crew. landing at dusk therefore those unfortunate balloonists have to spend the night out in the open. air force

pilot. during competitions he is often charged with the task of ensuring the crew safe return to. retrieving crews of from wherever they might land. rainbow pick up as calling day rate. i can see. wonderful. special training to learn how to get his bearings in different conditions whether in the woods or mountains but tracking a balloon through the streets of a town is a skill in its own right. the problem with tracking a balloon flying over a city or another population center is that there is a mass of people. you need to have a good knowledge of the city's top. and the flood so. what invariably ends up happening. is you get stuck in traffic. which is just great.

this is a very convenient place. from here we can see where balloons are going where they are likely to touch down. and you see our balloon rising over this town it's over by the hill. how far a balloon can fly depends on the wind what's most important is to make sure that it lands in such ways to make it easy for the retrieval truck to get to. pick up calling are you coming in to. head down right away ok we're coming.

he kept can you see yes he can see you very well. nigh elise's three zero four kilograms of weight in a week of intense retrievals the crew puts the billing together and takes it apart several times the envelope weighs one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty kilograms . i think about what we entrust our very lives to this envelope where we make sure that no stones get in the way back up which might damage it three or four years during. each gas tank weighs fifty kilograms if you add that to the burner in the basket the retrieval people will be hard put to collect it all. pylon. pylon three.

now we're all. on face value ballooning is a simple affair behind the scenes it is a vigorous combination of efforts by a crew of an escort truck and those who help build the balloon these people do find rain snow bitter cold and scorching heat truly they're afraid of only one thing missing the ability to take to the skies. the sky does not misunderstand the sky just don't judge the sky very simply it's.

the bloodshed in syria will only be found if both government and opposition forces lay down their arms and talk that's while western and gulf countries keep regime change recall their ambassadors from damascus also. because. it's worked for many many years for the seat of the mother of parliaments. brussels tell us what we can accommodate. fury in the u.k. isn't a tourist terror suspect top al qaeda spiritual leader in europe. and to the streets of london after the european court of human rights for the deportation. of a rift between the u.s. and post. washington's threats to halt military aid changes position on the so-called crackdown on western n.g.o.s our top story this.

international news and comment live from moscow this is a party with twenty four hours a day the syrian opposition the city of homs has come under the heaviest attack yet in days of intensive fighting between groups and government forces activists say hundreds of people have been killed by shelling since friday the government denies the assault of journalists says reports from homs are difficult to verify. it seems like the situation hummus has been ask a lady who for the last five days with fear fierce fighting between know what they call themselves the free syrian army and the military forces by the syrian government the syrian government has a cording to its official sources has reported many casualties.