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!
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