Balloons take flight, finally

The rains came and the rains will come again, but Thursday evening the hot-air balloons trumped the weather.

After storms washed away flights all day Wednesday and again Thursday morning, officials of the 2009 Balloon Federation of America U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship found a brief window; Championship Director Maury Sullivan called two tasks.

Despite heavy gray clouds and a threat of sprinkles, 54 pilots launched north of Battle Creek and flew west to an "X" in a field near North Avenue and Halbert Road and then to a target they chose themselves farther west. Targets of choice were required to be intersections within a designated area.

Meanwhile, 13 fiesta pilots launched from Kellogg Community College and flew to a target either at Northwestern Middle School or Lamora Park Elementary School, both on Battle Creek's north side.

As the competitive pilots flew over the cut hay field and dropped down to the target, some spectators lined North Avenue for a look.

"It's just great," said Brenda Harrison of Battle Creek, leaning against a car. "She (a friend) called me and said come over and I said I am turning off the stove and I am coming."

Harrison said she used to be part of a balloon club and has crewed before and still likes to watch the balloons.

"It's really nice to have it (the championship) in Battle Creek. I enjoy the other one (Battle Creek's annual summer balloon festival) and this is nice, too. I can just come out of the house and watch."

Harrison, like a few balloon pilots, was surprised to learn about the Thursday afternoon flight, given the state of the weather.

"I was amazed," she said. "It was raining when I came home from work."

Weather officer Brad Temeyer told pilots at their 5:30 p.m. briefing that he saw "isolated bands of light rain, rather light sprinkles" just west of Battle Creek "but that will continue to weaken and I am not expecting more than sprinkles."

Sullivan said he believed the weather window was wide enough for the pilots to fly safely before more rain, expected after dark, moved through the Battle Creek area.

Pilots must fly twice and a total of three tasks, according to BFA rules, for the event to be a valid championship.

Sullivan has seven possible flights before the event ends Sunday morning, and rain is expected to force cancellation of this morning's flight, Temeyer said.

Scores from the Thursday flight were not available at press time.

More public activities are scheduled tonight and Saturday night at the KCC campus between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Food vendors and music are scheduled along with a balloon glow each night at 8:30 p.m. Parking and admission is free.

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Tehama County Balloon fest to take off

Tehama County will be looking to the skies on Oct. 24 and 25 as hot air balloons take off for the inaugural Ribs, Rods and Rides Hot Air Balloon Festival at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning.

What's neat about the festival is it is three different groups of people and their die hard groups, said Rolling Hills Marketing Director Kate Grissom. All three groups together will make for a really fun festival. The whole thing is a spectator event and most of it will be free.

In addition to balloons, participants will be able to visit a classic car show and an invitation- only rib cook off with proceeds from the day going to the Red Bluff/Tehama County Chamber of Commerce.

Grissom said Rolling Hills' involvement wasn't just about getting businesses to donate to the chamber.

Our mission is community improvement and development, Grissom said.

We believe if we can be a partner in raising funds, and by providing an event that not only encourages residents and businesses alike to participate we've created a sense of pride in Tehama County and that's a win-win situation.

Chamber President Kris Behrens said the loss of the Nitro Nationals Boat Drags has left the chamber in definite need of funding. She said she was also excited about drawing new people to the area.

The chamber's charge is to support local businesses, but also, as a partner to the Conventions and Business Bureau, to bring visitors to the area, Behrens said. (The festival) brings a new and different venue to Tehama County.

We've really done a fabulous job of preserving our heritage, but this provides a venue totally separate from that, which touches the same, but also a different, group.

The festival will run from daybreak, about 7 a.m., when the balloons take off, to 2 p.m. with lots for spectators to do and see, including wine and olive tasting, games and live music. Rib tasting will be included in the event for a price, which has not been set yet.

Hot air balloon rides will be available to the general public for a price, which also has not been set, with all proceeds from the rides going to the chamber.

Balloons will be tethered, but people will still experience the feeling of lifting off and coming back down, Behrens said.

Orland resident Russ James will be heading up the balloon portion of the event as the Balloonmeister. He will be in charge of organizing pilots and checking weather conditions before take off.

I'm getting kind of excited about bringing an event like this that might bring some notoriety to this part of the world, James said.

As for lift off weather, James said the weather doesn't have to be sunny.

The biggest thing is the wind, James said. When you get more than 6, 7, or 8 mph when you have a balloon on the ground, it's about 60 feet in diameter and 60 feet tall and it wants to go with the wind. Things get a little bit rough and tumble.

James said he has pilots coming from as far as Reno and Carson City, Nev. and Medford and Grants Pass, Ore.

James said part of what makes riding in a hot air balloon fun is the people he meets and the camaraderie with those he flies with.

As a rule, we don't land where we take off like a plane because we go where the wind goes, James said. Ballooning is all about having fun. In a lot of cases it's kind of an adventure to see where you go.

Taking off at dawn avoids conditions found later in the day, such as updrafts and downdrafts, he said.

Sunrise is ordinarily the calmest and coolest time of the day, James said. Not that balloons can't fly (in hotter periods) but you can't, say, if there's an updraft that takes your control away or a downdraft that slams you to the ground or into a tree or power line.

Sponsorships for the festival are available and include festival ride for $1,000 and friends of the festival for $750.

Those interested in sponsorship can call Alan Foley at 528- 1328 or Elizabeth Soder at 736- 1474. For information call 527- 6220.

Entry fee to the show for those with classic cars Further information about the festival can be found at www.rollinghillscasino.com/rrr.

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Balloon championship set to take flight

A Texas pilot will try this week to set one new record and tie another when the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship is held in Battle Creek for the first time.

A win this week would give Joe Heartsill of San Angelo, Texas, his third consecutive win, something never done since the Balloon Federation of America held its first championship in 1963 in Kalamazoo. A win also would give Heartsill six championships and tie him for the most ever, a record set by former Michigan pilot Bruce Comstock in 1987.

"This year is kind of exciting," Heartsill said Friday from his home before making the trip north. "We have got a goal and seven would be luckier than six but I have to take it one at a time.

"This year is kind of exciting because I have a chance to make it three in a row and in three different cities,” he added.

Heartsill, 59, who has his own business making real estate investments, won last year in Columbia, S.C., two years ago in Waco, Texas, 1999 in Rantoul, Ill., 1997 in Columbia, Mo., and 1992 in Middletown, Ohio.

“The cool part is being at different locations,” he said.

Heartsill will be one of 54 pilots competing for the 2009 BFA championship, which will be held Wednesday through Sunday at Kellogg Community College. After media and sponsor flights on Wednesday, competition begins Thursday morning, and is scheduled each morning and evening concluding Sunday morning. Fifteen fiesta or fun flyers also will be in the skies.

The nationals have never been flown in Battle Creek and only once in Michigan. Organizer Derrick Jones said he hopes to announce this week that the BFA National Championship will be held in Battle Creek in 2010 and 2011.

It’s the second hot air balloon event held this year following the Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival over the July 4 weekend. The two events are not connected. The National Championship will replace the Holiday Balloon Fest, held each December for the past 10 years.

For Heartsill and many other pilots, Battle Creek will be familiar terrain. He has flown at the mid-summer event several times, winning as an individual and with two others taking the Team U.S. Nationals in 1997.

“It’s almost like playing on home turf,” Heartsill said “We are looking forward to Battle Creek. We want to get in a couple of practice flights. It should be fun. And I am going to do what I always have done, try to be steady and not make any mistakes. Try to be steady on every flight. You try to win the war and not the battle.”
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Winning won’t be easy, Heartsill said. The field includes former national and world champions like Steve Jones, Owen Keown, Al Nels, Johnny Petrehn and his brother Paul Petrehn and Nick Donner.

Heartsill guessed his toughest competition will come from the Petrehn brothers and Nick Donner and his brother, Chase.

“I am always watching for those guys but there are a lot of good competitors out there with a shot. This is for an opportunity to earn a slot at the next world championship and there are a number of competitors who would like that opportunity.”

Two-time winner Paul Petrehn of Howell said many in the field have a good chance to win, including his brother and Heartsill.

Petrehn said many in the competitive ballooning community are watching Heartsill because he has a chance for three in a row and six overall championships.

“It’s becoming a conversation piece,” Petrehn said. “He is putting himself in the hall of fame. It’s not an easy thing to do but Joe is one who could do it. I know he has it in the back of his mind.”

Paul Petrehn, a two-time national champion who won the 2009 Field of Flight and has flown in Battle Creek many times, said several of the pilots have a comfort level because they have competed here so many times.

“It allows me to sleep in my own bed Tuesday night and come over Wednesday,” he said. “Having the familiarity with the summer event and having flown in the winter (at the Holiday Balloon Fest) it gives peace of mind to the pilots and crews.”

The only Battle Creek pilot competing is a rookie, James Mitchell, 21, an aviation student at Western Michigan University.

“It’s my first time and I am going into it looking for learning perspectives,” Mitchell said. “The best pilots in the country will be here and it will be great to be able to fly with them.”

Mitchell said he is realistic about his chances after three years and 150 hours of flight time.
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“It’s always nice to go in with an attitude,” he said. “But these individuals are extremely well experienced. I crewed at the nationals last year and I know what they can do and I have flown against some of them at other events and for me to finish in the top half of the field, I would feel good about myself.”

As pilots like Heartsill, Petrehn and Mitchell prepare for flying, organizers said their preparations are about complete.

“We are good,” Derrick Jones said. “We are glad the time has come after four months of total chaos but we are ready to go and the sponsors and the community are ready.”

The BFA and Jones and the Holiday Balloon Fest board announced in May plans to bring the nationals to Battle Creek.

All agreed it was a short time to prepare but Jones said Friday the Holiday Balloon Fest board and committees, with 10 years of experience organizing an event in Battle Creek and with help from the BFA, were able to prepare in time.

“The staff is ready and by Monday there will be a few pilots in town and the officials will be here and we will get the odds and ends finished and be ready on Wednesday,” Jones said.

He said the organization has put together the event with a $225,000 budget of cash and in-kind contributions including prize money for competitors of $15,700 plus $1,000 for fiesta pilots. About 200 volunteers will be working on the event.

All admission is free and Jones said while there will be balloons in the sky both mornings and evenings beginning Wednesday, vendors, activities for children and some entertainment will be only Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Kellogg Community College.

Parking and admission are free although organizers are asking people to bring a non-perishable food item for the Food Bank of South Central Michigan.

“We had a very short window but things are coming together even better than we hoped,” said Andy Baird, president of the Balloon Federation of America.

“We are very fortunate to have local knowledge, experience and talent and that made all the difference and it is all coming together.”

Baird said bringing the nationals back to the Midwest after the past eight years in South Carolina and Texas is a positive move.

“We are fortunate that the Midwest brings us pretty good weather this time of the year.”

Trace Christenson can be reached at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com.

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Ballooners take to the skies in annual hot air balloon flight

Hot air balloons took to the sky Saturday morning for the annual Lake Travis Flight.

Dozens of balloons take part in the Central Texas Ballooning Association's flight every year.

"I've been ballooning since I was 13, and my dad's a pilot, so I've been around it for a long time," balloon pilot Cheri White said. "I love the peacefulness of it, the flying above the landscape. It's a beautiful way to see the earth and see Austin this morning."

That's just half the fun. White said the ballooning group is like one big family.

"Where you land, landowners are always really happy to see you," she said. "It's a good time."

To find out more about the balloons and crews who made the flight Saturday morning, visit Main.org/CTBA. To join, or just learn more, you can meet the group the second Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at Tres Amigos, on Highway 290 at Highway 183.

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