the skies would brings these people together so they come here from all over russia and the world are. always people stick together because of both the love of ballooning and that none of them will be able to do it singlehanded each person is a zone of responsibility 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. and marquis de 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 going through all of them today we took off from earth and flew in the air for water there's lots of it on the ground and in there and of course 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 champaign 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 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 zero 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 putting those designed for warfare were capable of doing in the mid twentieth century ballooning was no longer popular in russia almost no military balloons had 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 a 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. the balloon and keep it at the right altitude you can never tell how the air currents are going to behave. in 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. is a former air force pilot and the first. the crew holds him in high respect he was the first russian take the risk of launching the. take. that featured the colors of the russian flag from we went to paris. from there on. finally we reached our destination in chile southernmost 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. to get in the end with winds of eighteen meters a second we did manage to launch a balloon before everything that could be broken was broken. only four men in the world including myself have ever launched balloons in the antarctic. was trained by. one of the first balloonists in the former soviet union. chief every balloon competition in russia found he. the country's first balloon one 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 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 their i shares his passion for flying she was six years old when she first saw a balloon since then her cherished dream was paying to pilot one. pricey. everyone can participate. with 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 who feel right 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 stubber it is a heads up as soon as it touches down the pilot will allow to crawl some the ground the job of other pilots is to keep in 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 by approaching it all moving away. only few pilots can cope with such difficult competition the professionalism of the talan also has the 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 for 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. 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're 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 cooling and drake 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. polly 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 it breaks or not. it's a simple as that if you've just. ok let's get down to work. we can work is a handy 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 prams 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 the work. family but a human nowadays basket wickerwork barely differs from its french origins yet 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. and gracious is teams 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 and found

in this trade men's hands are stronger. lashley our products retain the warmth of our hands. i'm sure that if you are in a good mood while waving a basket the result is a good product. culture is that so much the same in commercial multi-millionaires 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. same. the limits to the southeast span to. see. us come up. early and.

six. the envelope is the most important part of a balloon the safety of all those on board depends on its quality designers make a computer model of a balloon numbered once the blueprint is finished they use it to cut out a couple of material these are used to make pots believe. elena cooper

is a seamstress by trade twenty years ago she worked as a tailors 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 aboard balloons of her own making. i lost balloons during a festival in. it was a very long time ago i even flew over the kremlin and it was so much fun. now such fine some band but back in one thousand nine hundred one or one thousand nine hundred two. it was amazing. hello. this is that's a nice piece of material and so easy to handle. qualities of primary importance in our business what you think of intentionally messed it up so you fall

out of the sky. never absolutely not a great job very well done and. the company repairs the existing beliefs 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 believe tester of the law in office 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 whose 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 all that he's been involved with aviation for fifty four years is a boom designed by 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 you can test balloons at any time under any conditions one hundred flights a year is a minimum. if you could see that flying is always a blissful whatever the conditions. and normal position. the balloon is in working order as it should be. hopefully we'll 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 only with the out there who truly flying. a hot air balloon can only be in preflight during the daytime it's a common role. in the world the busk it 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 refer 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 simpatico such that 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 get 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 includes four people a technician carries out checks to satisfy himself that the balloon is in working order.

our good flight. 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 crews. landing at dusk therefore those unfortunate balloonists have to spend a night out in the open. air force pilot.

during competitions he is often charged with a task of ensuring the crew safe return to his job is retrieving crews of from wherever they might land. rainbow pickup 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 floods 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. 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 as. he can see you very well.

nigel loses 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 which we entrust our very lives to this envelope where we make sure that no stones get in the way of the cup which might damage it for using. 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 thirty six.

i'm 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 helped build. these people to find rain snow bitter cold on school chink heat truly they're afraid of only one thing these in the ability to take to the skies. the sky is not misunderstand the sky does not judge the sky very simply is.

you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture.

russia warns against outside military intervention in syria saying the only way to end the bloodshed is for both government and opposition to enter talks moscow's diplomatic push comes as some western countries it severed ties with damascus and unconfirmed reports say security forces continue to shell the city of homes. in the u.k. as a notorious terrorist suspect is to be freed after the european court of human rights blocked his extradition abu qatada is wanted in jordan where he has been convicted in absentia of a plot to kill tourists who has been dubbed tight as a man in europe is set to be released after almost ninety years in detention. and egypt remains so far about prosecuting foreign funded non-governmental organizations it accuses of fueling instability in the country this despite threats

from washington it could cut more than a billion dollars in military aid to egypt a total of forty three n.-g. o. employees including one thousand americans facing trial for illegally funding activists. next to peter lavelle asks his guests about the stock market flotation of the world's biggest social media site facebook cross-talk it's up next. see. below in a welcome to grow.