By STAN KASPRZYK

FlightLog Archive

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Aircraft Flown

Ballooning Again - Sep-Oct 2024

I had my first hot air balloon flight over 50 years ago, on 18 August 1974, and flew balloons many times in the 70s, 80s and 90s while obtaining my Private and Commercial hot air balloon ratings. My last hot air balloon flight, however, was on 16 Aug 1997. Over the past few years, the Seattle Ballooning team has been conducting extensive balloon flying in the south Puget Sound area, and in August 2021 I helped crew for some local Seattle balloonists near Lake Tapps. After flying by a number of hot air balloons while returning from late afternoon summer flights in our Warrior, I felt it was time to get back into hot air ballooning again.

Over the past 35 years, the city of Prosser, WA has hosted the Great Prosser Balloon Rally, and a number of the local Seattle balloonists planned to be there for the 2024 rally. Ma and I decided to combine wine tasting and balloon viewing in Prosser, plus make ourselves available to crew for any balloonists who needed support. Saturday morning’s weather was perfect, with clear skies and light winds. We checked with a balloon crew listed from our local area, and found out the pilot and crew of ‘Fruit Flies’ lived just a few miles from us, and could use crew support. A total of 35 balloons launched from the Prosser airport or nearby launch fields, all cruising at low level along the nearby Yakima River. We had fun recovering ‘Fruit Flies’ and another local balloon, helped with packing, then attended an afternoon balloon pilot and crew event at Vic and Mandy Johnson’s nearby balloon repair shop, renewing acquaintances from ballooning in Auburn, WA in the ‘90s.

Our return to ballooning was re-energized by an invitation to stay with our friend Suzi Flynt Manus during the upcoming Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October. I flew balloons numerous times with Suzi and her late husband Bill Flynt in the late ‘70s and mid-‘80s in Albuquerque, Roswell, NM and Phoenix, AZ. We decided it was a great opportunity to re-engage our son, David back into ballooning and also introduce our grandson Nathaniel to the aviation sport. We stayed at Suzi and her new husband Bill Manus' home in Los Lunas, NM as our home base, and also got introduced to the world of RC ballooning, which uses miniature baskets but 30-foot tall balloons that were much easier to inflate, fly and repack.

Suzi arranged for us to crew for Frankie Martinez, the owner and pilot of the ‘RAKS’ balloon, also from Los Lunas.The boys got introduced to the hardest part of ballooning - the early wake-up at ‘O-Dark Hundred’, meaning really early. We woke up at 3:35AM for our first day of crewing for the RAKS balloon, and also the first day of experiencing the amazing spectacle of 550+ hot air balloons launching into the early morning skies. We arrived at Balloon Fiesta Park at 4:45, rode in with the RAKS crew, and enjoyed a well-organized breakfast for the pilots and crews, even sampling local green chili soup to start the day! Nine ‘Dawn Patrol’ balloons inflated and launched 30 minutes before sunrise, with special FAA-approved procedures and lighting, providing an amazing spectacle in the still-dark skies.

We then focused our attention with the RAKS balloon crew on laying out, cold inflating, checking the balloon condition, vents and sensors, then helping on the throat and crown for a smooth hot inflation with the powerful propane burners. Frankie loaded his passengers and got clearance to launch (with 100+ balloons already in the air) as we quickly loaded up the crew vehicles and headed out chasing.

The goal of a good chase crew is to follow the balloon and actually get ahead of them, scouting for clear landing sites and watching for powerlines or obstructions, and to be there to support the balloon’s touchdown and recovery when the pilot descends for landing. On our first chase, low altitude winds out of the north were quite strong, and it took us a bit of time to get through the massive spectator crowd to chase. The RAKS balloon smoked past downtown Albuquerque, so we jumped on Interstate 25 and raced south to get ahead of them.

We positioned ourselves in front of the descending RAKS balloon, and helped select a landing site along a road between power lines. David raced out of the crew pickup and made it to the balloon basket just as they touched down. We pulled the balloon to the road and gently deflated and loaded up the system. We rode back in the warming sun to Balloon Fiesta Park for an enjoyable post-flight celebration, champagne toasts, and more great local southwest food.

Our second day of crewing was just as much fun, with Nathaniel providing excellent support with his Dad on the crown of the balloon, while we all were submerged within a sea of spectators. Our winds on the second day provided 'box' conditions, with very low altitude winds coming from the north, then a climb to 400-500 foot altitude providing winds from south. The RAKS balloon stayed low on a southerly heading, and was safely down on the ground and deflated in a school parking lot by the time we, in the chase crew, could meet them. Packing was easy, and we joined the crew for another champagne toast at the Balloon Fiesta Park, then toured all the ballooning booths and activities on the field.

The Special Shapes night glow was another highlight, with over 100 Special Shapes balloons glowing for over an hour after sunset, not launching, but providing a stunning spectacle for the huge crowds. Thanks, Suzi and Bill, for your hospitality, story-telling and reminiscing, while introducing another new generation into hot air ballooning!

Nathaniel’s reaction to the amazing Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and balloon crewing: “Overall the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was wonderful, but there were a few parts that stood out most to me. The first day of crewing was especially fun because the flight was long, so we kept having to pull over at possible landing places then quickly run back to the truck to stay ahead. The special shapes glow was also really fun because up until this trip I didn’t know shaped balloons existed, so seeing a whole field of them all glowing was astounding. By the way- the water kind of tastes different in Albuquerque!”

Next up, getting back to FLYING balloons!