I've once flown in a hot air ballon, it's unbelievable smooth. If you would close your eyes you wouldn't even realize you're not on the ground. It's definitely not comparable to an airplane, where you always have some turbulences and you know you're in the air. I never flew in a helicopter, so I can't compare it to that, but I realize why people used airships to travel over the Atlantic, because you probably don't even know you're flying...
Different things.
In a hot air balloon you just stand in there, elevated above the ground.
It's calm, no wind, no accelerations, no sounds.
Main fear is not to burn alive due to a gas tank accident.
Fresh morning air, automated farms below.
Hanging between the heavens and the earth.
Serenity.
Landing can be tricky, however.
No brakes, no steering, whatever field the wind blew you in, there you topple.
Helicopter is an entirely different beast.
It's loud.
You can't hear anything except by the earphones.
You can't hear yourself think without the earphones.
Small, cramped cabin, noticeable accelerations, it's flying around, not hanging between the heavens and the earth.
But you are free to fly over nicer scenery, where a balloon would have been swept away.
Heavier-than-air flying machines don't care about the breeze.
