Columbus Days 2010

Often the weather in Columbus is less than ideal, but I always look forward to seeing my ballooning friends as well as my "local" friends. This year, the weather was good, AND Jill was available to make the trip with me! In the 5 years I've attended Columbus Days as a pilot, Jill has never been able to join me. While a few friends (Carl and Pam Ray) weren't able to be there, Jill's presense made this my favorite trip to Columbus.


Oh, yeah, the flying was great, too!


Friday, the crew assembled just in time to set up for the glow. The weather was flyable, and some pilots got nice flights in before the glow, but we were satisfied to glow. Nick was the first balloon set up for the show, as he decided to fly into the field, and just stay inflated. We were close behind, though, setting up just ahead of the setting sun. Being an "early glower" I decided it would be ok to be one of the first to pack up and fuel, too. That got our crew a prime spot in the food line!

Jean, of the Columbus Chamber, changed things up a bit this year. Instead of having hamburgers, she put out some bar-b-que. It was a nice change! The cake was delicious, as usual, although Jill didn't get any cake, because our friend Janine, who's balloon's picture was on the white cake, was one of the last ones off the field. So, while we waited for cake, she was waiting for propane. We finally gave up waiting for her, and headed back to Darrell and Marilyn Shumake's house.


Darrell and Marilyn have become good friends over the last five years. They are my hosts and sponsors, and they are GREAT in both roles! Columbus Day Weekend is a big party at their home, with lots of friends and relatives staying there and/or eating there all weekend long. It is a fun time, catching up with people who I only see once a year. Jill was a fast fit into the group, too, and really seemed to have a great time!


Saturday morning came quickly, and our whole crew rolled over to the pilots' briefing. Marty Redburn was there, riding his motorcycle down just for the morning flight. The weather was great, a Hare and Hound task was called, and the "land rush" began as all the pilots headed out to the launch field.


Sandy was my designated passenger for the flight, and we got the balloon inflated and followed Carson, Columbus's hare extrodinaire off the field. Actually, we didn't follow very closely, but could see him way off in the distance. He was easy to follow, though, and but for slight miscalculation at the end of the race, I would have scored well on the target. I tried to make an adjustment to my position, and overreacted. I missed the target by about 30 yards to the right.


The winds seemed to have picked up a bit, and Sandy and I had a bouncy landing, but a good one. The chase crew found us quickly, and we carried the balloon to a nice lawn for a relatively dry packup!


Saturday evening was too windy for my comfort, and rather than waiting for the winds to die (which they did, but not until right before sunset) my crew decided to start drinking. So, we stayed on the field and visited until it was time to head for home for the party. Lots of friends came over for a delicious dinner with wings, ribs, brisket, potato casserole, and more. We knew that the Sunday morning flight was coming quickly, though, and we ended the party and went to bed around 10:00.


Sunday morning proved to be great for flying, too! We cold inflated the balloon, then waited for Carson to lift off. Once he was in the air, we heated our balloon and stood it up. Keith got in, and I double checked to make sure he had signed the waiver. He hadn't. So, we watched several balloons head out after Carson while Keith read (carefully) the waiver and initialled and signed all the appropriate places. Then we joined the chase for the hare balloon.


We were doing pretty well going after the target, keeping low so our track was just to the left of Carson's until he set down and I could steer in a bit. I was on a great course, until I jumped up to avoid scaring a heard of cows. That altitude change pushed me to the right a bit, which I expected. The left turn down low that had been present until that point had disappeared, which I hadn't expected. Oh well, another flight to the right of the target!

We flew on a bit passed the target, and saw a nice field that didn't look too thorny (Marty had come back for the Sunday morning flight, and he brought Dana with him. Nobody complains about scrubby fields like Marty does) so I set up to land in it. There was a tree that was right in my way as I made my approach, but I was undeterred. I knew I could fly over it, and drop down quickly to land in the field, but I also knew there were power lines on the far side of the field, and if I did that, I'd have to time my descent just right. I knew that if I scraped the tree with the basket, I was sure to get into the field perfectly. I opted to hit the tree.


The landowners were very nice, and showed the chase crew how to drive right in to the field, so we packed up quickly. About that time, Rob Smith was ready to pack up his balloon, so my crew jumped in to help him. Soon, both balloons were in the trailer, and we drove back to Columbus to pack up and head to Josie's for lunch. If Columbus weren't such a fun event, Josie's would STILL make it worth the drive to participate! Delicious food, and lots of fun visiting with many friends!

Beautiful Little Rock Flight

I've flown from Sherwood a few times over the summer, but I haven't had a West Little Rock flight since June. Flying there is a bit challenging, but it sure is pretty!

I've been planning to take Jan flying since she returned to LR from her summer vacation, but I've been out of town for so many weekends, we haven't had a chance. Yesterday, the weather was perfect, and both of us were available, so we decided to go!

Sandy and Alex were happy to get up early to help, and we met Jan and her husband Paul at the commuter lot on the west side. I planned on flying with David, but he canceled his flight. He was nice enough to come out at a moment's notice and bring helium balloons for me to test the winds. The helium balloon revealed that the forecast was correct, and we were in for a very pretty (but a little short) flight.

We drove to Maumelle, and launched from the field by Starbucks. I knew we needed to get a little altitude fairly quickly in order to get to Two Rivers Park, so we climbed, and found the wind direction we needed. That wind was a little fast, and I wanted to make the flight last a little longer, but better to get to a good landing spot than to have a long flight!

As soon as we could, we descended into slower winds. These winds put us on a great path to the park. They also put us fairly low over the Arkansas River. It was beautiful. The sun was rising right next to our great view of the Little Rock skyline. As we flew over an island in the river, I heard a noise and looked down to see a blue heron flying along the river bank. A little mist on top of the water added a fantastic accent to a beautiful sight!

After following the river for a few minutes, we had to climb a bit to put ourselves back on course for the landing field I knew would be perfect. It was the same field I landed in the last time I flew from Maumelle, and it was right next to a parking lot. For balloonists, parking lots mean dry pack-ups!

We navigated into the field, just as planned, and had a nice, standup landing. The crew didn't know exactly where Two Rivers Park was, so Jan and I had a chance to visit with each other, and with a nice family that walked over to us to see the balloon. We also watched many runners (human and deer) enjoying a lovely morning in the park.

Next week, Columbus, Kansas! I can't wait to get the balloon in the air again.

Hot Springs

The Legends Hot Air Balloon Rally was held last weekend, and one of the Legends couldn't make it, so I was offered the opportunity to fill in! The event is held at the Hot Springs Airport, which makes flying a little tricky. There aren't many good landing sites around Hot Springs, so it's tough to fly off from the field. So, both Friday and Saturday, we flew across the airport grounds. A little anticlimactic, but the crowd (a large crowd at that) loved it!

Friday evening, I met my local crew members, Chris, and Sharon. Sharon and I flew across the airport, we packed up, and had some great burgers in the VIP tent. Chris and Sharon stuck around for the Clint Black concert, but I headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

No flying took place on Saturday morning, so I went to breakfast with Chris and Sharon, and upon returning to the hotel, found most of the balloonists visiting in the parking lot. It was fun meeting some of these people, most of whom have been flying balloons for 20 years or more.

Evening came and it was time to meet at the airport again. Even though it wasn't my group's turn to fly (we were supposed to glow only on Saturday) we joined the flying group for a hop across the airport, then set up for the glow. My neighbors Mike and Cynthia came over, so we had lots of hands, and lots of fun! The sunset behind the glow made for some BEAUTIFUL pictures.

David Hoover was in charge of weather reporting for the event, and he determined that Sunday morning's weather wouldn't be suitable for flying, so after the glow, my crew and I had catfish and fixin's in the VIP tent while we listened to Charlie Daniels entertain us. It was a very pleasant evening, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Thanks to my crew members for making this possible, and for making it fun! Even though the flying isn't great, I had a nice time, and I hope to get invited again next year!