Ground crew

Aero-towed launched gliders will require ground crew commensurate with supporting the tow aircraft, which are typically single piston-engined general aviation (GA) small lightweight utility variants, often Cessna.

Their roles include preparing the passenger basket (or gondola) with the correct amount of pressurized gas for the burners, testing of the burners, calculating the total mass of the balloon pilot and all passengers, calculating and applying appropriate ballast weight (fixed internal and releasable external).

Prior to launch, it will require personnel to 'waft' the balloon envelope during horizontal burner operation to ensure an efficient fill.

; not only from ambient winds, but also from the vortices generated by the aerodynamic elements of an aircraft at speed, along with engine induction and jet exhaust thrust).

Airports with international connections will also have passport control agents, border, customs and immigration force officers.

Two Royal Air Force ground crew installing a camera into a Westland Lysander Mk II of No. 225 Squadron at RAF Tilshead , Wiltshire, September 1940. Both men (of leading aircraftman rank) wear parade dress , which suggests the photo was taken during an official station inspection. More typically, ground crew would wear heavy duty working dress.
Time-lapse ( tilt-shifted ) of airport ground crew operating ground support equipment at Osaka International Airport .