How Balloons Fly
Every balloon rises for the same reason a cork floats in water: Archimedes' principle. The envelope displaces a large volume of air, and if the balloon plus its contents weighs less than the air it pushes aside, it floats upward. The net lift equals the difference between the density of the surrounding air and the density of whatever fills the envelope, multiplied by the enclosed volume. Balloons have no propulsion or control surfaces for steering horizontally, so pilots navigate purely by changing altitude to catch different wind layers.
Hot Air vs. Gas Balloons
A hot air balloon heats the air inside its envelope with a propane burner. Warming the air lowers its density (roughly from 1.2 kg/m3 ambient to under 1.0 kg/m3 heated), producing lift. The pilot climbs by firing the burner and descends by letting the air cool or by venting it. Because the heat constantly dissipates, the burner must be fired in bursts throughout the flight, and endurance is limited by the propane supply, typically one to two hours for a sport flight. A gas balloon, by contrast, is filled with a gas that is intrinsically lighter than air, usually helium (inert and non-flammable) or hydrogen (greater lift but highly flammable). It needs no continuous energy input; instead the pilot climbs by dropping ballast such as sand or water and descends by venting gas. Gas balloons can stay aloft far longer, which is why they dominate scientific soundings, record-distance flights, and long-endurance research missions.
The Main Parts
The envelope is the large fabric bag, usually a coated nylon or polyester teardrop, that holds the lifting medium; load tapes run from the crown to the mouth to carry the flight loads. At the bottom is the open mouth, through which the burner flame enters and excess pressure escapes, so a hot air balloon is never a pressurized vessel. The burner sits on a frame above the basket and converts propane into a multi-megawatt flame directed up into the envelope. The basket (or gondola), traditionally woven wicker for its flexibility and impact absorption, carries the pilot, passengers, instruments, and propane cylinders. At the crown, a parachute valve is a movable fabric panel pulled open by a control line to vent hot air for a controlled descent or to deflate the envelope after landing. Gas balloons swap the burner and propane for a closed envelope with gas valves and ballast.
Major Manufacturers
A small group of specialist firms builds most of the world's balloons. Cameron Balloons, founded by Don Cameron in Bristol, England in 1971, is among the largest, with a US operation that has built more than two thousand balloons and offers sport, commercial-ride, and elaborate special-shape advertising balloons. Lindstrand Balloons produces sport and commercial envelopes and is known for strong after-sales support. Aerostar (Raven Industries), credited with launching the sport in the United States, has ceased new hot air balloon production but still supports its large installed fleet. Kubicek Balloons of the Czech Republic is a major modern global supplier, and Balloon Works / Firefly is a historically significant American maker whose balloons remain in the FAA registry. Their models fill national registries and are supported for decades, since a well-maintained balloon can stay airworthy for many years.
Sport, Rides, and Regulation
Ballooning divides into non-commercial sport and recreational flying, centered on festivals, mass ascensions, balloon-glow displays, and precision competitions, and commercial passenger ride operations that sell scenic sunrise and sunset flights as part of the air-tour industry. In the United States, private flights operate under FAA Part 91, while commercial rides fall under stricter Part 135 / air-tour rules, and commercial balloon pilots must meet higher experience and medical-certification thresholds. Propane handling follows dedicated LP-gas code provisions, and fire extinguishers rated for propane are standard equipment aboard the balloon and in the chase vehicle.
Why Balloons Have No ICAO Type Designator
ICAO aircraft type designators, the short codes used in flight plans, exist to distinguish airplanes by performance: cruise speed, climb rate, and wake-turbulence category, all of which matter for air traffic separation. Balloons share none of that variability. They have no engines, drift at wind speed, and change only altitude, so a Cameron sport balloon and a Kubicek ride balloon look identical to air traffic control. For that reason ICAO groups them all under a single generic special designator, BALL, rather than assigning a code per manufacturer and model. Balloons are therefore treated as a category of lighter-than-air aircraft, defined by how they fly, with model-level differences handled through national type certification and registries rather than international type codes. This landing page serves as that category, linking every registered balloon to a common overview.