Want to look down on the rich and famous? Go eye to eagle-eye with a winged predator? See the sun rise over Queens? How better to do this than from a balloon 30 stories above Central Park?
The opportunity arises, so to speak, on Friday when a private company begins offering rides over the 843-acre (341-hectare) park for $25 per adult and $17.50 for kids.
Other than the wicker basket accommodating a pilot and four passengers, there's not much to suggest the Jules Verne classic, "Around the World in 80 Days." No roaring flame providing hot air; instead the balloon is filled with helium, an inert, nonflammable gas. And no soaring for miles; the 45-foot (13.72-meter) diameter envelope is tethered to the ground and raised and lowered by a winch for a 10-minute hover above the park.
"Get a spectacular daytime view of Central Park and bustling streets, or wait until sundown and float above dazzling city lights," says the AeroBalloon Web site. But it adds that the best time is early morning, "when the winds are most calm and the sunrise view is extraordinary."
The flight will also offer a panorama of posh hotels and luxury high-rise apartments that border the park, not to mention celebrities walking their dogs.
The purpose of the rides is to mark the 150th anniversary of Central Park, the U.S.'s first major urban park, created by architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and opened to the public in 1858.
"We all get to experience the wonders of Central Park on the ground, and now from above," said Doug Blonsky, the conservancy's president.
AeroBalloon said its balloons have been "wowing crowds for years" at ballparks and other urban settings around the United States. While this is the company's first venture in Central Park, tethered balloons were a popular novelty in the park's early years, Blonsky said.
They now require a permit from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA, responsible for air-traffic safety, permits balloons no higher than 500 feet (152 meters). It did not return a call seeking comment.
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On the Net:
http://aeroballoon.com
http://www.centralparknyc.org
