Up, up and away

Hot-air balloons fill the sky over White Sands


Most men of retirement age consider an early-morning tee time to be the perfect way to start a day.

Bob Mass, of Albuquerque, isn't one of them.

"This is my weekend golf," said Mass, who pilots a hot-air balloon named Pita's Kiss. "That's what I tell folks. I try to do it every weekend, just like a golfer tries to go golfing every weekend."

Mass piloted his balloon early Saturday morning above White Sands National Monument's gypsum sand dunes during the 18th annual White Sands Balloon Invitational.

The balloon festival is the only time Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range allow their airspace to be used. All balloons must be grounded by noon.

That's just fine with Mass, who spent four years as an airman at Holloman, piloting T-38s.

"Aviation's been in my blood for 40-something years now," he said. "I picked up ballooning after I got out of the Air Force as a way to keep air under my butt."

Threatening clouds hovered over White Sands National Monument for much of the morning before the sun rose over the Sacramento Mountains as many crews prepared their respective balloons for flight.

Thick clouds later gave way to clear blue skies as the morning progressed.

"I think the conditions turned out very well," Mass said. "We flew for more than an hour. We had a great time."

Gary Smith and his wife, Judy Thompson, both of Las Cruces, said they enjoyed watching the balloons early Saturday.

"We just wanted to get out, have a picnic and see the balloons," Smith said. "We've done it for a number of years when the balloons fly. It's a good thing to see on an early morning in New Mexico."

"I just wish I had $1 for every camera I see out here," he added.

"The White Sands Balloon Invitational is the best one I've ever seen because of the white sand," Thompson said. "I mean, what better backdrop can you have? I may come back (Sunday) morning, if I can get (Gary) out of bed."

About 52 hot-air balloons registered for this year's event. Half of the crews lifted off from White Sands National Monument while the other half took flight from Alamogordo.

Mass said ballooning is a great way to meet people.

"It's a community sport," he said. "You can't do it by yourself. You must have a crew. For some reason, people seem to be attracted by balloons. Whenever I land, there are a bunch of folks who will come over and want to help and be a part of it."

Piloting a balloon also provides for some excitement.

"You never know where you're going to end up," he said. "You go where the wind takes you. The only thing you can control is going up or down. I got about 1,500 feet off the ground, but I've been up to 10,000 feet above mean sea level. Here, that would be about 6,000 feet off the ground."

Brian Hodges, of Las Cruces, said he grew up in Alamogordo, but never ventured to White Sands National Monument to see the balloons take flight.

"We always used to watch them from our house," he said. "I wanted to see them up close."

Hodges brought his wife, Heather, and 1-year-old son, John, to the balloon festival.

"We wanted John to see the balloons," he said. "We've lived in this area for much of our lives, but this is the first time he's seen them."

Hodges said he was impressed by the spectacle put on by the balloons.

"It's really cool," he said. "They're so graceful. It's really neat the way they take off. They move faster than I thought they would move."

"This is amazing," said Heather Hodges, who also enjoyed her first balloon festival visit. "I've lived here for 14 years and this is my first time coming out to see them."

Brian wasn't too sure about taking a balloon ride. He prefers to keep his feet on the ground.

"I'm afraid of heights," he said. "Being in a wicker basket high above the ground just doesn't do anything for me."

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Up, up and away in our beautiful balloons

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Balloon Fiesta Park each year.



ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Gliding over the sere New Mexico landscape, ochre-colored desert melding with ochre-colored houses, I envision the first hot-air balloon flight more than two centuries ago. It must have been an otherworldly sight: a rooster, duck and sheep lifting off in front of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and soaring over the streets of Paris.

It's a far cry from today, when a woman puttering in her backyard pauses to wave at the gaggle of brightly colored balloons swooping over her Albuquerque home.

For our group, it's a sneak peek ahead of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot-air balloons of all shapes and sizes will fill the skies Oct. 3-11. Try to imagine a balloon with all the colors of the rainbow lifting off next to two yellow-and-black-striped honeybees rising in tandem, next to the menacing helmet of Darth Vader. It's a spectacle that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Balloon Fiesta Park each year.

TAKE OFF

On the chilly spring morning of our flight, passengers gathered on the barren lots of an undeveloped subdivision, waiting to learn if the winds were calm enough for us to ascend. The day before, our flights were canceled because of brisk breezes.

This morning we got the green light, so the groups scattered around the five massive balloon envelopes spread out on the ground. The burner was turned on, and a fan blew hot air into the envelope, which slowly rose from the ground as it filled.

Our group scrambled into a gondola manned by Mike Collins, senior pilot for Rainbow Ryders -- the only hot-air balloon company allowed to take visitors on flights during the Balloon Fiesta.

As the heat from the burner filled the envelope, we slowly rose from the ground, joining the other rainbow-hued balloons already in the air. Floating on the wind currents, we crossed over highways and homes, swimming pools and schools. Dogs barked ferociously as we passed overhead, and in one yard a rabbit skittered to safety.

The pilots steered us over the still-brown trees and brushed along the banks of the Rio Grande River, skimming over treetops and setting marsh birds and Canada geese to flight. One pilot briefly dipped the bottom of the gondola basket into the river's waters, and droplets poured down as the balloon ascended again.

In the distance, we saw the ancient volcanoes of Petroglyph National Monument, where we had walked the day before.

Eventually, the pilots began scouting for a place to land, and we touched down in a vacant field, where chase crews from Rainbow Ryders helped us disembark.

BALLOON CITY

Albuquerque's roots as a haven for hot-air ballooning stretch back more than a century, when a local barkeep launched a balloon from the center of town, soaring up to 14,000 feet before touching down several miles away.

But ballooning didn't move into the mainstream until 1972, when the city's first festival showcased 13 hot-air balloons. These days it draws more than 700.

With ballooning, weather is key, and the city is known for the ``Albuquerque Box,'' where the wind blows north at one elevation and south at another, allowing pilots to launch their balloons, fly, then turn around and touch down near the launch site.

More than 300 balloonists live in Albuquerque -- topping any other state -- and the first flights across both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans had New Mexicans as key team members. Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson -- for whom the local balloon museum is named -- were part of the first team to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, crossing the water in the Double Eagle II gas balloon in 1978. The pair was then part of a team that crossed the Pacific in Double Eagle V just three years later.

The history of hot-air ballooning is on vivid display at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, which opened in 2005.

One exhibit spotlights that gravity-defying feat of 1783, when the rooster, duck and sheep were sent aloft. The first manned flight came just two months later.

Since those early years, hot-air balloons have been used not only for adventure and pleasure, but also in times of war. Balloons were used to get information out of the city during the siege of Paris in the 1870s, and for observing the enemy during the Civil War.

And museum curator of collections Marilee Schmit Nason shares a fact that perhaps few know. Japan launched thousands of incendiary balloons, known as the Fu-Go, at the United States during World War II. The balloon bombs, which floated across the Pacific Ocean, were designed to wreak havoc in the United States. About 1,000 were estimated to have reached U.S. shores, but they landed in winter in places like Washington and Oregon, and most simply fizzled out.

Other exhibits spotlight death-defying feats, such as Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger's jump out of the Excelsior III at 102,800 feet, free falling for 4 ½ minutes before opening his parachute.

There's also Kittinger's balloon, Rosie O'Grady, used for the first solo Atlantic flight, and the Double Eagle V, which Anderson, Abruzzo and others used to cross the Pacific.

During the Balloon Fiesta, there's plenty happening outside the museum's doors, including a chainsaw carving championship, with artists transforming pieces of wood into astounding sculptures. Two nights are capped off with concerts -- one this year featuring country star Josh Gracin, and the other 1950s rock 'n' rollers, the Coasters.

But the balloons are the main attraction. Each morning, they ascend en masse, and competitions are held throughout the festival, such as balloon races and tests of ballooning skills. As night descends, there are balloon glows, with all the tethered balloons illuminated against the dark, and fireworks to cap off the daily events.

And of course there's always the chance to be part of the sea of balloons sailing through Albuquerque's crisp blue skies, waving at the tens of thousands of spectators gathered below.

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Up, Up, and Away At New York State's Hot Air Balloon Fest

If you’ll be chilling in upstate New York this Labor Day weekend, you may want to consider a little more action than just chowing down a couple of white hots off the grill. The New York State Festival of Balloons is taking place all weekend in Dansville, and it’s only about an hour south of Rochester. There will be plenty of food, arts and crafts, entertainment, and a huge amount of hot air balloons. You can even camp right at the festival in case you get stuck with overnight balloon duty.

To celebrate their 28th year running, organizers will kick things off on September 3 with their Thursday Night Balloon Glow. Swing by the town’s municipal airport to see the balloons fire up their burners and watch them shine in the night sky. Maybe if you’re lucky you can sweet-talk a pilot into a free ride over the weekend.

Over 35,000 balloon fans usually come to check out the festival, and this year you can be one of the masses for only a $5 admission fee. Your ticket will get you into the festival grounds to see the balloons take off, and there’s even a car show worth strolling around. This festival is a cool way to spend at least part of your holiday weekend—just be sure to pack a spare digital camera battery, because everyone loves pictures of hot air balloons.

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Up, Up and Away... Family business takes to the skies in hot-air balloon

Claire and Tony Colburn's relationship has always flown high.

They met in 1992 when Claire piloted Tony's first-ever flight in a hot-air balloon at a rally in Siskiyou, Calif.

They married two years later. (Claire Colburn tossed the bouquet from a balloon.)

In 2003, they moved to Tobaccoville, where they run Yadkin Valley Balloon Adventures with the help of their children, Elise, 8, and Avery, who turns 14 today.

Tony and Claire are FAA certified balloonists. They offer rides year-round in their 90,000 cubic-foot balloon, Dream Chaser.

The balloon, which was made in Statesville, is large enough to hold 90,000 basketballs.

Many of their flights take off from RagApple Lassie Winery in Boonville. Flights typically launch in the early morning and late evening hours when the winds are calm because the balloonist can't control the balloon's course.

Tony pilots most of the flights these days, while Claire, the children and other helpers chase the balloon in the family's sticker-covered van. The crew stays in radio contact with Tony and watches the skies, following the balloon as the wind carries it.

"You just have to basically take what the weather gives you on that day and make your flight work," Tony said.

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Welcome to Up Up and Away

Fly in Christchurch / Canterbury, New Zealand with one of the world's most experienced ballooning companies.

Canterbury's geography and climate are ideal for ballooning, they provide a unique situation where passengers can experience Canterbury's landscape as only a few have seen it from a gently floating hot air balloon.

.......'There is no other place in the world where it is possible to fly from the centre of the city, in view of the sun rising out of the ocean, toward snow-capped mountains'..................

Balloon Adventures Up Up and Away Ltd can provide courtesy transfers from all Hotels, Motels, Hostels and B&B's in Central Christchurch.

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