Sunflyer dawn patrol balloon conoco phillips Stars and Stripes Sun Flyer on a Sunny Day Sun Flyer with another balloon

Lower propane pressures in hot air balloons

A Caution from Sun Flyer

Decreases in propane pressure can be 20% over the course of a flight. Vapor pilot lights will contribute to evaporation of propane in the tank and impact the operating conditions of the balloon in a more dramatic way at low propane levels than for balloons equipped with pilot converters operating with liquid propane. A balloon pilot should be aware that when the propane in the tank is down to the last ten or fifteen percent, that propane will be cooler than the original full tank, and

the pressure in the tank can drop off rather precipitously during the last few minutes of the flight if thermal gradients were present in the liquid propane prior to flight.

A complete reference is provided below.


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