The Queue Nobody Photographs
The Billing launch site sits at roughly 2,400 metres above sea level, about 14 kilometres uphill from Bir town by road. On a clear morning during peak season, October and November, or March and April, there can be 80 to 120 tandem passengers queued ahead of you. The wait is not 20 minutes. It is, depending on when you arrive and how many pilots are flying that day, anywhere from two to five hours. Operators at the bottom of the hill in Bir will not volunteer this information when they book you. The standard pitch is "morning slot" or "afternoon slot," which sounds scheduled but is not. You are entering a queue, and the queue moves at the pace of wind windows and pilot fatigue.
