in a town called "Hope." That's where this weekend's hot air balloon event is. The t-shirt says this is the 8th year for hot air balloons to gather in Hope in July. It's a low-key event, with about 8 balloons, and some very nice pilots.
The promotion of the balloon event really focuses on the balloon glows on Friday and Saturday, and on the tethered rides that are available. The problem was that the pilot that normally provides those tethered rides couldn't be here this weekend! I volunteered to pilot the tethered rides, if I could use someone else's balloon; an offer which was accepted.
So, last night, we picked the spot for the tether, set up the balloon and tied it off to three vehicles. The wind was really calm, so flying at the ends of the ropes was pretty easy. Getting many people in and out of the basket was less easy. Passengers ranged from young children, a few of whom were afraid of the noise the burner makes, to older people who had great difficulty climbing into and out of the basket.
Everyone who rode had a great time, with several imagining how wonderful it must be to fly in the balloon without the tethers, and a few imagining how frightening it would be. I have to say that it's mostly wonderful, and only a tiny bit frightening!
This morning, we set out to the park to fly. After cobbling together a crew, we inflated and launched. The winds were calm and very steerable, and my passenger, John, and I had a great flight, landing gently in a field north east of town. The chase crew was there when we landed, and we packed up and returned to town without incident.
Another glow and tether tonight before we head to ElDorado, AR for a morning static display at a church Sunday morning. I'm looking forward to our upcoming vacation so I can get a bit of a break from my weekend ballooning!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday Morning Over Sherwood!
I've been waiting for an opportunity to fly from my own neighborhood, and this morning, I had the chance! The forecast was for light, southwest winds on the surface, and we had them! Winds aloft reports were for some faster winds, and we had those, too! Maybe it was inadvisable to fly with those fast winds, but I took the chance, and it paid off!
As we were laying the balloon out, just a stones throw from my house, Cynthia told me to let Mike fly along. Mike had nominated her, but she said he was REALLY excited to fly with, so she deferred until a later date. We thought we might have a windy inflation, but it wasn't bad at all. I made sure the envelope was plenty hot before I told the crew to release me, and we climbed out of the launch field pretty quickly. As soon as we cleared the trees, we took off FAST!
We flew over our neighborhood, and Mike took a picture of our street (our house is probably on the edge of the frame). Then we flew over the Air Force Base, and Mike took some pictures of that. You can barely make out the C-130s parked near the runway. We saw a nice field, and I made a touch and go landing. I thought about staying there, but there wasn't good access for the chase vehicle, and we had plenty of time and plenty of fuel to continue, so we did!
We flew over a lake and a wildlife management area. On the other
side of the WMA was the biggest field I think I've ever landed in. There was a forest IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD. We made an approach and leveled out nice and low over the field. We played around getting up and down in an effort to get to a road into the field. Mike pulled the balloon part of the way and we flew it part of the way. Mike even got a little burner time!
We found a good spot for packing up, our chase crew found their way in to us, and we packed up and drove home.
Flying near home was nice, but there wasn't much variation in direction. Flights where I can steer the balloon are always more fun than the ones where I can't, but I'll take a flight like this morning's to not flying anytime!
As we were laying the balloon out, just a stones throw from my house, Cynthia told me to let Mike fly along. Mike had nominated her, but she said he was REALLY excited to fly with, so she deferred until a later date. We thought we might have a windy inflation, but it wasn't bad at all. I made sure the envelope was plenty hot before I told the crew to release me, and we climbed out of the launch field pretty quickly. As soon as we cleared the trees, we took off FAST!
We flew over our neighborhood, and Mike took a picture of our street (our house is probably on the edge of the frame). Then we flew over the Air Force Base, and Mike took some pictures of that. You can barely make out the C-130s parked near the runway. We saw a nice field, and I made a touch and go landing. I thought about staying there, but there wasn't good access for the chase vehicle, and we had plenty of time and plenty of fuel to continue, so we did!We flew over a lake and a wildlife management area. On the other
side of the WMA was the biggest field I think I've ever landed in. There was a forest IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD. We made an approach and leveled out nice and low over the field. We played around getting up and down in an effort to get to a road into the field. Mike pulled the balloon part of the way and we flew it part of the way. Mike even got a little burner time!We found a good spot for packing up, our chase crew found their way in to us, and we packed up and drove home.
Flying near home was nice, but there wasn't much variation in direction. Flights where I can steer the balloon are always more fun than the ones where I can't, but I'll take a flight like this morning's to not flying anytime!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Saturday Morning West Little Rock Flight
After some successful flights last weekend, I feel like I'm making some progress with my pilot skills, so I felt pretty comfortable planning a flight on the west side. Making me more comfortable was the fact the David was planning a flight, and we could fly side-by-side.
Ever since Jill went to work for Arkansas State
University, she's wanted to give a balloon ride to her boss, and we figured this was a great morning for it. We'd be launching practically from her back yard, as the forecast winds were from the south, and our target was several miles north. Jill's boss decided to give the ride to her son, who just graduated from high school and also just turned 18. So, Genia, Marshall, Jill and I inflated the balloon in a nice, clean parking lot beside where David was inflating his balloon.
Once both balloons were standing, we launched for a great flight over West Little Rock. It was clear that we had chosen our launch site well, and would need to stay fairly low to keep on track for our chosen landing site. Our track took us over lots of shopping centers as well as directly over the swimming pool where Marshall works. No one was swimming at that early hour, but on the bright side, no one was running on the deck, either!
We
cleared Highway 10, then the ridge, then we dropped down to a nice landing in Two Rivers Park. David landed in the same field I did, so we helped each other pack up, and we shared our toast with our passengers before heading off on some errands.
What a great start to the weekend!
Ever since Jill went to work for Arkansas State
University, she's wanted to give a balloon ride to her boss, and we figured this was a great morning for it. We'd be launching practically from her back yard, as the forecast winds were from the south, and our target was several miles north. Jill's boss decided to give the ride to her son, who just graduated from high school and also just turned 18. So, Genia, Marshall, Jill and I inflated the balloon in a nice, clean parking lot beside where David was inflating his balloon.Once both balloons were standing, we launched for a great flight over West Little Rock. It was clear that we had chosen our launch site well, and would need to stay fairly low to keep on track for our chosen landing site. Our track took us over lots of shopping centers as well as directly over the swimming pool where Marshall works. No one was swimming at that early hour, but on the bright side, no one was running on the deck, either!
We
cleared Highway 10, then the ridge, then we dropped down to a nice landing in Two Rivers Park. David landed in the same field I did, so we helped each other pack up, and we shared our toast with our passengers before heading off on some errands.What a great start to the weekend!
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