Balloon jumping over Dubai! 27.11.2013

Balloon jumping over Dubai! 27.11.2013

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Buzz buzz buzzzzzzzz …..My alarm wakes me, looking to the window I see that the sky is still moon lit…. in my sleepily disorientated state I stop for a moment and ponder with some confusion……..Then I remember The Balloon!…….THE BALLOOOOOON!

I bounce out of bed, collect Miss Rosina Extreme 66 and we make our way to SD Dubai desert campus. There we find a group of tired looking skydivers buzzing with excitement for Balloon jumps, we are briefed then split into three groups and driven by the pilots towing our balloons a short distance to the launching point towards Dubai.

Assembly beings under head lights of our vehicles, the burners are attached to the baskets and tested releasing a almighty roar!! Spitting fire into the sky in a spectacular display, before being laid on there sides in the direction of the large flaccid balloons.

Fans are positioned and we assist with inflation……. one by one start come alive and start to take shape.

"GEAR UP!"  shouts our pilot "we will be away soon"…… as the balloon dances into a vertical position we climb in to the basket and hold on tight, the anchor line is released and we take flight!

Light blue and orange pascal colours light the sky as the sun slowly rises over a sea of sand dunes along with our altitude there is literally no noise apart of the occasional blast from the burners our balloon climbs quickly the pilot gives us some pre-jump instruction: "Please jump from the basket with the lower sides here or here"………. "This red line here separates the top selection of the ballon …………If you pull on this I will die ……………DON'T TOUCH IT!"

After some 15 minutes from take off we arrive at jump attitude ~1676m (5500ft) and watch all the skydivers bail from the surrounding balloon baskets in the distance……Pop….. POP ……pop their chutes open and now its my turn I climb out on and stand on the edge the basket looking at the ballon arch back and release myself into silence of a dead air exit. I rotate then open up extend my limbs to stop but continue to turn in the dead air so I tuck again and rotate before hearing that familiar noise of terminal I open my canopy and I fly over HWY 66 land at the DZ.

Rosina stands on the side of the balloon basket, exits and completes a perfect single slow rotating back flip before opening her canopy and expressing cheerful joy!………… "Perfect!" she shouts…….landing next to me on the green in the front of DZ with prefect timing to finish watching the sunrise, what a jump! 

 I highly recommend the ballon jump at the desert campus, its a great experience and the desert provides a number of safe alternate landings if you can't make it back to the DZ, information for the jumps is posted on Dubai desert campus Facebook page regularly. Price is 400 AED cash, and it's payable to the pilot on the day you jump.

You can BOOK YOUR BALLOON JUMP

 VIEW FULL PHOTOGALLERY BALLON JUMPING OVER DUBAI by EXTREME 66