How do pilots steer the balloons?
Generally speaking, they don’t. A balloon drifts in the same direction and at the same speed as the wind. The skill is for the pilot to pick the altitude that has the most desired wind direction. Surface winds and currents sometime blow in a very different direction from the winds aloft. Altitude control is achieved with the on-board burner. Longer ‘burns’ will achieve lift. Shorter ‘burns’ or none at all, will allow the air to cool, and the balloon to descend.
