The size of the area needed to land a balloon depends on the size of the balloon and the weather conditions at the time. The faster the wind is blowing, the more space is required to land a balloon. In calm conditions, the area can sometimes be no larger than the balloon itself. Balloons have landed in parking lots, golf courses, fields, ball parks, schools, back yards, front yards, streets, roads, and even parks to name just a few. Balloon size refers to the volume of air that the envelope will hold when fully inflated.
Size is measured in either cubic feet or cubic meters.
Manned balloons range anywhere from around 12,000 cubic feet for a small single person balloon to many hundreds of thousands and even millions of cubic feet for the largest balloons. A typical morning or evening balloon flight lasts about one hour. Depending on conditions such as wind, weather, daylight, and the availability of good landing spots a flight can last anywhere from a few minutes to up to two hours. Depending on the care it is given, a balloon envelope may last 500 or more flying hours. Considering that most sport pilots fly from 35-75 hours a year, balloons do last a long time.