The hangar and runway where the balloon will fly

This is the hangar that the Air Force has been kind enough to let us use to store the balloon, and to prepare for flights.  The balloon will be flown from approximately where I was standing when I took this photo.

The building on the right will be drug out to the runway and placed near where the winch and the balloon will actually be flown.  This way we can be in a warm place, out of the wind, and still be right next to the winch in case we have to get to it quickly.

In order to keep the winch and its trailer from rolling away when the balloon is blown by wind, we will be using ratchet straps to tie the winch down to the runway, which conveniently is built of material with holes already in it for us to hook into.