Cold Inflation
There is a process in place to inflate a hot air balloon, starting off with a cold inflation. A fan blows air into the envelope, and when the pilot is satisfied that there is enough cold air packed into the envelop, he will turn the burners on, creating the heat needed to get the balloon airborne. It takes a crew of at least 3 people, 4 woud be great, to get a balloon in the air. The normal positions on a balloon crew are at the crown line, the line that is attached to the top of the balloon, two people at the mouth, they hold the balloon open to allow the cold and hot air to be packed in to the envelope prior to flight. If you have enough people, you have somebody operating the fan. When the air is packed with cold air, the pilot will signal the fan operator to shut down the fan, then move it out of the way once the prop stops. The pilot handles the burners so I didnt really count him, but all of the other stuff would be for nothing if there were no pilot.
