out of this enchanting experience this is 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 has 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. 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. 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 as for water there's lots of it on the ground and in there 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 time as have the 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 have their 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 a balloonist from paris flew a russian balloon passenger over moscow according to one theory and proudly xander 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 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 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. and 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 pilot on the first. the crew holds him in high respect who 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 their own . nation in chile. as a. number of stations belonging to the united states very many people in high places outside

our country in the presence of russian blueness they're extremely objectionable. before we arrived in chile. we were able to fly to king george oil and only after two failed attempts. to get in the end with winds of eighty meters a second we did manage to launch a balloon before everything that could be broken was broken. and. as far as i know 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 he has been chief every 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 as being to pilot one. everyone can purchase the payson that we can no matter how old you are parents are welcome to come here with children very many men bring their wives who launder money but they don't come here is simply to look around who feel right they help a lot. now there are a lot of them honest 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 pole it is a heads as soon as it touches down the final it will allow to crawl some the ground the jump on the pilots is to keep in mark as precisely as possible. the first building to go up is called the heading delirious 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 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 monk goldfish. bowl looming 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 in-flight pilots. things like better navigation smoother knobs and delicate didn't cords instead of course ropes tools when getting entangled. that 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 i 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. 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

rotten 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 money. 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. 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 as 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 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. 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 and found

in this trade men's hands are stronger. lashley our products retain the warmth of our hands. i'm sure but if you are in a good mood while waving a basket the result is a good product. the first.

of for. me please. be easy. to. see.

a little. leg. the safety. depends on its quality design is. the blueprint is finished. and of materials these are used to make.

a seamstress by trade twenty years ago she. making dresses and over. the life she switched to the ambitious task of making the envelopes. bloom several times creating flights. making. it was a very long time ago i even flew over the kremlin it was so much fun. back in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine. she says that's a nice piece of material. qualities of primary

importance in our business let'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 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. because the main believe 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 no 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. as 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. 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 would that 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 busk it has to touch down before sunset. unlike balloons in free flight tethered 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 organizers of the patrick 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 or 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 sport. sometimes inexperienced teams responsible for retrieval can't find crews. landing at dusk therefore those unfortunate balloonists have to spend the night out in the open. is another x.

air force pilot. during competitions he is often charged with the task of ensuring the crew safe return to his job is retrieving crews of from wherever they might land. rainbow pickup is calling day rate because 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. 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.

can you see as. we 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 what we entrust our very lives to this envelope where we make sure that no stones get in the way which might damage it three or four years. 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. my lawn.

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 those who helped build. these people to find rain snow bitter cold on scorching heat truly they're afraid of only one thing missing the ability to take to the skies. the sky misunderstands the sky judge the sky very simply it's.

the. technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've got the future covered.

the arab league debates how to bring stability back to syria as pressure on the regime melt with speculation western states could be propping up al-qaeda through their support of the opposition. crowds gathered outside the greek parliament which is set for a vote on more public cards faced with a tough choice between an impoverished population or a bankrupt country. and iran promises to reveal major advances in its nuclear program which it insists is for peaceful energy purposes despite the long list of western sanctions imposed against it our top stories this hour.

with a look back at the past seven days and the latest developments this is the weekly on. the arab league is mulling over what further action to take on the crisis in syria with reports of escalating violence meanwhile the head of the group's observer mission has resigned just as a proposal is being considered to again send monitors from the league and the u.n. to the country and in addition to reports from cairo where the pan. or a body convenes the violence in syria has been escalating there are claims by the by the opposition of course saying is that more than one hundred more than one hundred people have been killed just over this past week of the by the claims from the opposition from the rebel fighters come. with jordi of the people that there is a massacre going on in the city of holmes the syrian officials beg to differ and those people who are are who.