Rust Hot Air Balloon Controls
One button. The skill is reading the wind, not working the controls.
The keys
| Input | Does |
|---|---|
| Walk in | Board — you stand freely in the basket, there's no mount key |
| E on the red Burn button | Light the burner to inflate and climb; it switches itself off after ~30 seconds |
| E on the Fuel Storage tank | Add Low Grade Fuel (face the centre burner) |
Before it moves
150 Scrap from Air Wolf at Bandit Camp, with 75 Low Grade included (~6 minutes of burn). Fuel only burns while the burner is lit — 1 every 5 seconds — so coasting costs nothing.
What goes wrong
- !You cannot steer. Direction is pure wind, and wind changes with altitude — watch the flags on the rigging and pulse the burner only while they point where you want to go.
- !SAM sites will shoot at a balloon, and standing under the basket as it lands is instant death.
- !It decays on roughly a 3-hour timer in the world — a balloon is a trip, not a garage vehicle.
Sources: CorrosionHour balloon guide — checked 2026-08-04. Keys no source documents are left out rather than guessed.