Nice December Morning Flight

Well, the weather was good, our friends Alex and Sandy were free, so we decided to brave the "cold" (25 degrees) brought on by the Polar High sitting over the entire Midwest, and go out for a flight. Jill and I picked up Sandy and Alex at 6:15, and we headed north to Vilonia, Arkansas. Flying there is nice, because there aren't many obstacles, and lots of places to make practice landings.

We launched from the school that's west of Vilonia, and didn't really know where we would go. The forecasts all said the winds were light and variable. That was exactly right. A pibal before launch went straight up, making small wiggles one way or the other. So we were really in a "no wind situation."

Once we were in the air we tracked slowly west (didn't even get past Jill's footprints in the dew where she had been at the end of the crown line), then east, over the school (took about 5 minutes to get over the school). We landed on the playground, where Jill took some pictures before we went back up. This time, I decided to climb a bit higher to see if I could get any wind.

At about 500 feet, light winds carried us northwest. We flew (still slowly) in that direction, toward a cattle operation next to a big, clean hay field. Even though we hadn't been in the air very long, I could see there weren't many options beyond that field, so I made an approach and a very gentle landing. I called the chase crew, and told them where we were, then I practiced my precision flying by lifting off, and staying just a few inches above the ground. I flew across the field like that for a few minutes, then popped up, and came back down for another soft landing.

Once our crew got close, they couldn't find anyone to ask for permission to come into the nice clean hay field for a good pack up, so we carried the balloon into the cow pasture next door, where we did find a landowner home who said it was ok to pack up there. Fortunately, all the cow pies were frozen solid, so we deflated and packed up quickly, before the thaw came.

A nice flight on a crisp, pretty morning! Thanks to the Wellses and to Jill!

Wow! What a beautiful morning!

Jill and I set out to meet our passenger and crew at the "usual location." We launched a pibal, and even though the winds were different than forecast, our original launch site was a good option, so off to the soccer fields on Cantrell we went.

After a smooth inflation, my passenger Sabrina and I were off. The winds down low started to take us East, towards town. That was a bad direction for us, but we knew from the test balloon that with just a little more altitude, we'd turn to the west. That's exactly what happened, and soon we were flying right along Highway 10.

As soon as we were at altitude, and we could look around, we saw some beautiful scenery! The river was completely blanketed in a thick layer of fog. The fog was contained by the ridge that runs along the south side of the river.

We stayed high for about 20 minutes, then dropped down to steer ourselves along the highway. We kept working the winds toward some good landing options, and I thought I had just the right area, but the winds just wouldn't help me get in to them, and there were some obstacles (power lines, livestock, restaurants), so I decided to fly on.

We continued over a construction area that looked too muddy for a decent packup, then I saw a small yard surrounded by trees. Beyond that yard looked like a neighborhood with lots of open areas. I thought I'd head for the neighborhood, but the winds were so calm at that point, I knew I could ease into the small yard.

The chase crew watched me clear the road in front of the landing spot. When they saw me vent to drop in, they got out of the car and watched the gentlest landing a balloon can have. I guess if I can have witnesses for my hard landings, it's good to have witnesses for the really good ones, too!

The landowner was away at church, but the gate was unlocked, so we backed the trailer in a little ways for an easy packup. We shared a quick toast in the road, just in time for the landowner to arrive home from church. We asked her permission retroactively, to pack up in her yard. Her only regret was that she wasn't there to see the balloon before it was back in the trailer!

A great morning for a really pretty flight!

Columbus Days - I Love Columbus Days!

Columbus is a great chance to see many of my best friends in ballooning. It's the first event I attended when I started to pursue ballooning as a hobby, and I've come to know many of the locals there, too.

I woke up Friday morning and prepared to leave Little Rock for my drive to Columbus. It was raining heavily at my house, and when I looked at the radar, it was apparent that it had rained heavily in Columbus, too. I called Charlie Venable, in Neosho, who told me they had over 6 inches of rain overnight! I knew it would be too wet to fly (I was wrong, but sometimes I love being wrong).

I drove to Columbus, making a short stop in Springfield, MO to drop off phones for the kids. It was a nice, but short visit with Alex and Shane. As I got nearer to Columbus, I saw lots of flooding. Baxter Springs, KS seemed to be underwater. Again, I knew we weren't going to fly.

Upon arrival in Columbus, we were told that because it was so wet, our normal launch fields wouldn't be used, I thought, "no other launch fields will be used, either!" But, we headed to the fairgrounds, and despite muddy conditions, many balloons glowed. Using tarps, and lots of crew, those that glowed stayed pretty dry. My crew was pretty laid back, and we made the decision that a static display wasn't worth getting wet for. "No fly? Stay Dry!" was our slogan.

Saturday morning, though, the winds looked too good to pass up a flight. Besides, we figured, if the balloon gets wet, we'll have all day to dry it out! So, we went in search of a launch site. We found one in a gravel parking lot on the highway that passes through Columbus. It was a short hop to the target field (a fly-in, in Columbus?) which I missed to the right. Janine, flying "Venus" launched to my right, and missed it to the left!

No worries, we had lots of fuel, and lots of morning left, so we flew on over a big school complex (Central School. It's on the edge of town. Huh?). Flying out of town to the southwest (I'd never flown that direction before in Columbus) I saw several balloonists ahead of me in good landing sites. Steve Libel had a nice big field, and I thought about landing by him (he has a big tarp), but when I climbed to fly over power lines, I got too sharp a right turn to get there, then I saw Tony Goodnow had landed next to a gravel road. Because he was packing up there, I knew there were no power lines, and it would be a great place to pack up.

I planned my approach, staying low over trees until I could drop in just over the road. This week, I was able to clear the barbed wire fence that was in my path, and landed just in the field on the other side. Crew member Ben Crawford was there to jump on the basket, making the landing very smooth. We carried the balloon over the fence, to the other side of the road, and packed up nice and dry. It was only a 30 minute flight, but Keith (my passenger) and I had a nice ride!

After the parade, we all napped then went out to see that it was too windy to fly Saturday night. My hosts, the Shumakes, then had a nice party at their house.

Sunday morning, we got up and went tot he Pilot's briefing, but the winds were too quick for a good flight. It might have been ok if the ground had been dry, but a high wind splash and stick is not a good landing option. So home to pack up, then off to Josie's for a meal I look forward to all year.

Many thanks to Darrel and Marylin, Carl and Pam, Ben and Mo, Marty and Dana, and John and Willa. They always make Columbus a fun event!
my best crew members, the Redburns, everyone's friends, the Rays, and Ben and Mo

Mountain Home, AR: Not Much Room for Flying!

Not much room, but pretty views from the short flight I made!

Mountain Home is home to a satellite campus of Arkansas State University, and a rapidly growing campus at that. All new facilities, many under construction, and more planned for construction, make this a lovely spot! The University was wrapping up a fundraising campaign and wanted a special event to celebrate their success. A balloon festival was the way to go.

They put invitations out, and 7 pilots responded favorably (not bad for a first year), so an event was born! Mark, the balloonmeister, got to Mountain Home on Thursday and hoped to fly a couple times before everyone else arrived. It was not to be, though, as the winds prevented his flights.

Friday evening was to be a crew instruction clinic, and a fun flight from the field. High winds prevented this, too, so the pilots did what pilots do when we aren't flying; we ate! After a lousy night's sleep (too excited about flying Saturday) I headed to campus, and met my sponsor and crew. The sponsor was Carter's Jewell Chest. T.C. Carter, his son, Chris, and his fixed-wing flight instructor Caura (sp?) were to crew. Since this was a fly-in task, we checked winds, and headed out to find a launch site. T.C. knew just the place, and was able to sweet talk the landowner into allowing us to launch from his pasture (the cows were way on the other side, "We won't scare them" we promised!)

Caura drew the short straw and had to fly with me. We launched, and right away found a wind to take us right toward the target. I was headed a little right of the "X" and I knew if I descended at just the right time, I could get a left turn and fly right over the target. I also knew that I would be too anxious to find that left turn, and I'd miss the target to the left. That's exactly what happened, and I dropped my marker about 135 yards from the mark.

We then flew on to find a landing site. The winds were quick, and there's not much space once you leave Mountain Home, so we landed pretty soon after the target field. On approach, I got a little behind on my burns and was headed right for a fence. I stayed high enough so that we only clipped the fence, but in doing so, I got the balloon lighter than I wanted, so I was in a sharp ascent, over the field I wanted to land in. I vented hard, and had an ugly landing, with three big bounces. Caura, an aviator, knew that any landing you walk away from is a good one, and if you can reuse the equipment, it's a great one! It wasn't my greatest landing, but no injuries to person or balloon, so I can't complain. It was a short flight (only 20 minutes) and it covered 6 miles! It was pretty quick!

We landed in a nice spot, sharing it with Gary Odom, a really nice pilot from Louisiana. Gary had a large crew, some of whom helped me pack up. We then shared the traditional Balloonists' Prayer with his group, and headed back for refueling.

I spent Saturday resting and geocaching before returning to the college for dinner and the glow. Lots of folks turned out to see the balloons, and enjoy a very nice evening. Everyone was very friendly. Lots of folks took lots of pictures. I found some good ones on my sponsor's FaceBook page, at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115217&id=135763908570&ref=mf.

Sunday morning was too windy to fly, so we packed up and headed for home. Before leaving, I dropped in at Mel's Diner (didn't see Alice, Vera, or Flo) to visit with Gary and his crew, then I headed to the airport to see T.C.'s new airplane. Pretty sweet!

Thanks to all the folks in Mountain Home for putting on a really fun event!

One Week, One Glow, Three Flights

Well, I took the week after Labor Day off, and it gave me a chance to fly. It had been several months since my last flight, so I needed to get current. It had also been a long time since I had a lesson toward my commercial certificate, so I wanted to fly with David. Wednesday morning gave me a chance to do both. David, Dudley and I met at the usual spot, and drove to Vilonia for a lesson flight. Since I needed to land several times, we decided to work on our "HALO" landings, where we flew over a landing site and dropped fast into the field. We had three good landings (some smoother than others) then a final landing, just on the edge of Conway (home of Kris Allen!) A quick breakfast at the Waffle House, and a drive home made for a good morning!

Friday, Jill and I drove to Harrison for the Arkansas State Hot Air Balloon Championships. At 5:00, we had our pilots' briefing at a soccer complex. For a town of Harrison's size, they have great athletic facilities! The soccer complex was to host much of the balloon championships. After the briefing, the balloonists all prepared our balloons for tethering and glowing (most flew tethers, but I don't have tethering equipment, so I just glowed).

My balloon hadn't been inflated since its annual inspection. The vent line was tangled, but I didn't realize it until the balloon was standing, but not standing right. I couldn't deflate it using the vent, so I let it cool, and we pulled it down, fixed the line, and re-inflated it. We kept the balloon up for about two hours, taking pictures, talking to spectators, and getting to know our terrific crew members, Chris and Emily.

Saturday morning came early, and a 6:00 am pilots' briefing gave way to a morning competition. It was a two part judge declared goal event, with a $10,000 pole grab. I hadn't ever flown in Harrison before, so I tagged along with some friends (Alan, Patty, and Jim) to find a launch site. We picked the fairgrounds, inflated and launched. I sandbagged a little. My first inflation wasn't going well, as some of my top tabs came out before the balloon was standing, so I deflated and started again. It worked out that my friends all launched and once I was in the air, gave me a good view of how to fly to get to the target. Emily flew with me, and the team did well. After the morning flight, we were in 2nd place, with two pretty good tosses at the target. I need to practice baggie drops, as I kind of blew the drop at the 2nd target.

Jill wanted to see Mallori's new apartment, so we drove to Springfield, and spent a couple hours helping her move, then back to Harrison for Saturday evening's flight.

Saturday evening was a hare and hound. We finally got inflated on the first effort, and with Chris with me, we did a pretty well flying to the hare, but didn't get quite close enough to score. I don't think anyone else did much better, and it was a great flight, so it was a great evening!

Sunday morning, the weather looked iffy, and Jill and I were tired, so I decided I wasn't going to fly. The competition was on, so Mike (the weather guy) Mills, did a great job, and put his bean bag between two of the legs of the X. I'm sure I got beat out, but as it started raining before the balloons landed, I felt like I won!

We drove home, and I had a reception for work. It was a really nice weekend!

Nice Passengers, Fun Flight

They say any landing you walk away from is a good one, and if you can reuse the balloon after, it's a great one. That equation doesn't take into account the accessibility of the balloon after the landing, so last night, I made a great landing after an interesting flight, all near Pinnacle Mountain.

I met passengers Lee (Leigh?) and Dick, crew members Dudley, Allison, and Heather, and photographers Paul, James, and Lilly in West Little Rock, and we caravaned to Roland, AR. We started assembling the balloon, when two co-workers appeared to watch and lend a hand (actually a foot, thanks, Joy!)

The wind was calm from the West, and we had a very nice inflation and launch. The balloon headed straight for my intended landing site, and I thought, "this will be terrific!" Then, as we got over the river, the wind stopped. Lee asked "what would we do if the winds don't pick up again?" To which I replied that if Sully can land in a river so can I! I also told her I was confident we wouldn't have to land in the water. My confidence was rewarded when the wind picked up again, this time from a different direction, though.

Our new wind blew us back to the south side of the river, over some fields and farm land, much of which looked pretty wet from the air. Someone was burning brush, and the smoke was blowing to the west. The wind it indicated would allow us to fly right to a great landing spot, with good access, right behind the Pinnacle Mountain State Park Ranger Station! I descended to take advantage of that wind, and discovered that just a short distance away from the smoke, the wind was going to the east. It still gave me a big, flat, and open landing spot, but that spot was pretty tough to get out of.

Passengers Dick and Lee had to drag the balloon through a muddy field for quite a distance, while my crew put a park ranger on the phone so I could describe where I was, and she could tell me "You can't get there from here." She went on to explain that while we landed on park land, the only way into that spot was through private property. She agreed to direct the crew to that property so we could ask permission.

About the time we got to the balloon to the edge of that private property, the crew showed up, asked the landowners if we could use their lawn (the cows in the adjoining field didn't seem to mind the balloon a bit), and we had a nice deflation on beautiful, short grass. The landowners enjoyed our traditional toast and we were on our way.

It was a nice evening for a nice flight. I always get nervous flying here with few landing sites available, but with a little planning, a little patience, and a little effort, it's provides for some beautiful flights!

Trees Trees Trees

The weather for the middle of last week looked really good for a flight. David and I both had Thursday evening free, so an instructional flight was in order. After checking the weather, I suggested with War Memorial, or Burns park as options. David advised that War Memorial gave us a better chance for our preferred landing spot (Two Rivers Park) so that's where we launched. As soon as we were in the air, David said, "Maybe Burns Park would have been better!"

The winds were a little high during inflation, and they were pretty variable (once we were in the air, we watched the windsock at the helipad at Baptist Hospital rotating 45 or 50 degrees), but after a good inflation, we popped out of the small launch field for a good flight west.

There are lots of trees to the west of town, and the variable surface winds made it difficult to line up on the few good landing sites we saw. One of our favorite launch sites was right in our flight path, and we tried to steer for it, but I missed by about 30 feet. Finally, as we flew low over the treetops, a big hay field came into view. It was wide, and we were headed right for the center of it.

It was a bit of a bumpy landing, as I still haven't mastered the size of David's balloon or the feel of the vent, yet, but a good, safe landing. David pulled the balloon into a neighboring yard (that had a clothesline running through it) and he and I deflated the balloon.

Roads are few and far between in that area, most of the roads parallel each other, with few connecting roads, so it took our chase crew a little while to find us. But, they found us. We packed up, and headed for home.

It was a long evening, and a good lesson. David has shared lots of good tips to fine-tune my flying skills, and I really enjoy learning from him. It's comforting to have his experience when flying in this new territory. All the trees and the relatively few landing sites make flying in Little Rock so different than in the pastures and prairies I'm accustomed to. I'm getting better and more comfortable, though, and I can't wait to try it again! My plan is to fly David's balloon next weekend. Hope for good weather!

A Little Stationary Burner Time

On Saturday, some friends of David's were having a birthday party for their son, and asked David if he'd set the balloon up and treat the guests to tethered balloon rides. David asked me if I'd like to help, and of course, I said, "yes!" Tethering is a bit of a chore, but it's something balloonists are called on to do occasionally, and my experience with it is limited.

The best way to tether is to have six lines attached to the balloon, three on top, and three on bottom. Those six lines attach to three different anchor points; vehicles, in most cases. Each vehicle has a rope running to the basket, and one running to the very top of the balloon. This keeps the balloon pretty stable, even in slightly windy conditions.

I learned lots about the setup, and got to handle the burner, under David's supervision. We flew (up and down, up and down) until the propane was gone, and the sunlight was nearly gone. The guests (especially the kids' parents) enjoyed having the balloon there, and I had fun, too, but not as much fun as a "free flight," and with lots more work!

Commercial Lesson

Weather systems move through pretty quickly this time of year. In the summer and fall, you might have a few days or a week with good, flyable weather. In the winter and spring, there might be a day or two here or there that are good, and there are lots of days in between the good ones. Today, was one of those days.

Light winds at the surface were supposed to remain light, despite high winds at low elevations. David and I decided to drive out past Pinnacle Mountain to launch, with the intention of flying toward Two Rivers Park.

We had a nice inflation in cool (28 degrees) temperatures. Then we lifted off slowly, with the intention of staying below the fast winds. Wind speeds low were pretty slow, but even to 1200 feet MSL, the winds never exceeded 10 kts. We did get a nice right turn up high, which gave us lots of opportunities to steer ourselves.

We flew for over an hour, and didn't make it to Two Rivers Park. If we wanted to fly another 30 minutes, we probably could have gotten there, but Alex, our chase driver, had to get to work, so we found a nice big hay field with no gates. Can't beat that!

It was a fun flight, and a good opportunity to get more comfortable with the area and with David's balloon. David always has good insight that is helping me become a better pilot, too!

Since it was a working flight, and not in my balloon, I didn't fuss with a GPS log or with a camera, so no maps or pictures to show. Sorry!

January Flight

A year ago, when I was offered my job, Billy Roehrenbeck, one of the Y's board members who offered me the position, jokingly said that giving him a balloon ride was one of the conditions of my employment. I told him that I'd accept that condition, and enjoy taking him for a flight. Between his schedule and mine, it's taken almost a year, but we finally flew together this morning!

Billy recruited his brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Katie, to help us, and Jill braved the cold, early morning to help, too. We met the Roehrenbecks in Maumelle and drove to Vilonia to launch. It was about 30 degrees, but there was no wind during inflation, so it didn't feel too cold. The fan was slow to start, but once it did, it puffed the balloon up in short order, even in the absence of wind!

After an easy inflation, we were off. The plan was to stay low to make some landings early on, then fly a little higher for fun and steering. By staying low, we headed mostly east, staying right by the highway, when we climbed just a few hundred feet, we got a pretty sharp right turn. The map below shows the wind's "steerability." Down low, we flew east north east. Up high, it was southeast. It sure made "driving" the balloon easy!


After a touch-and-go and a full-stop landing, we climbed up and rode that right turn south east, after a bit, we saw a nice area for landing, and used the winds to work our way in.

By the time we landed, the winds had picked up a bit, so our final landing was a little bumpy, but we didn't drag more that 10 or 15 yards before coming to a stop. The landing site was a little wet in spots, but we were able to pack up without getting the balloon very wet. It was a nice, relaxing flight, with new crew members who learned quickly and did a great job!

Billy bought breakfast after the flight, and we enjoyed the Balloonists Prayer toast over breakfast at the Conway Cracker Barrel. Thanks to Jill and the Roehrenbecks for a great morning!