The balloon basket has reamined virtually unchanged since the eighteenth century. There have been technical applications to the burner, the envelope and the flight control systems but there has been little advance on the comfort of a wicker basket – in recent years some modern variations have appeared and in the early days some gondola styles were tried out.
A typical balloon basket is made of rattan and willow and a plywood floor is usually fitted. The edges have a rawhide binding, with padding and a suede trim on the top for comfort, protection and handling. Stainless stell wires and upright supports are built into the structure of the basket for extra strength and support. These wires and/or uprights are used to attach the burner frame.
Hot Air Balloon baskets come a variety of shapes and sizes, with abilities to hold up to 20 passengers during the flight. The bigger the basket, the more compartments it will have. A small balloon sized 77,000 cubic feet could carry pilot plus two passengers in an open square shaped basket, however a commercial operations balloon sized 210,000 cubic feet could carry pilot plus eight or nine passengers in a rectangle shaped basket with multiple partitions or sections.
The basket remains the traditional element in modern ballooning with romantic and evocative images of wicker and rattan.