Can hot air balloons be steered at all?

Question

obviously, their lateral movement can be controlled, but how about horizontal can that be controlled at all or are they simply blown around by the wind?

Answer 1

Their lateral movement cannot be controlled, only their altitude (vertical movement). By finding different wind directions at different heights some control can be made over the general direction of flight.

Answer 2

Balloonists can steer along a pretty accurate path by changing altitudes. At Freedom Weekend Aloft, an annual festival, a car is given away to the balloonist who can grab the keys from top of a pole after exiting the immediate lauch area and returning. There is also a competition fro dropping markers on targets on the ground several miles from the launch site.

Answer 3

Lateral movement and horizontal movement are the same thing. No they cannot control this. They can control if they want to go up or down.

Answer 4

Air currents move in different directions depending on what altitude the ballon is at,,,,Balloonists steer by raising or lowering the balloon into a specific wind current.

Answer 5

They are just blown by the wind. Wind directions vary by altitude, so some slight control can be had by changing altitude.

Answer 6

left and right