Very few
visual objects are more captivating than hot-air balloons that drift through
the sky at various altitude levels, seemingly suspended in time. The non-sporting segment of hot-air balloon
events often features a decent mix of balloons created in the shape of a variety
of objects, and the vast majority of orbs display patterns resplendent in a
kaleidoscope of colors.
A balloon
event is like an enchanting dream for passionate photographers like myself. In past decades, I made nearly annual visits
to the Friday night Great Forest Park Balloon Glow followed by Saturday’s race
and the Jefferson Barracks event. Thanks
to my ex’s craft show entries, I also experienced several Centralia (IL)
Balloon Fests. 
With the granddaddy of balloon events—the Albuquerque (NM) International Balloon Fiesta, held this October 6-14, here’s a hot-air balloon article and sidebar on the racing aspect that I had published long ago!
PHOBIA
BEATEN, REEVES NOW PLAYS IN THE CLOUDS
Acrophobia
and hot-air ballooning make strange bed fellows.
It takes a
lot of coaxing for someone with a relentless fear of heights to soar some 4,000
to 5,000 feet off the ground. But that’s
precisely what Tina Reeves has been doing since overcoming her phobia.
The St. Ann
resident was first exposed to ballooning more than a decade ago. That was no accident because Reeves was
residing in Albuquerque, regarded as the balloon capital of the world.
"I started
going to the big race, but I didn’t know how to get involved,” Reeves
recalled. “My boss flew the Manpower
Temporary balloon. He asked if I’d be on
the crew. I started crewing every
weekend for different types of balloons, and took my daughter Kim along. Since then, we’ve made it a family
sport. I eventually got my husband
(Keith) involved.”
While
Reeves’ first involvement on her own was back in 1986, her phobia kept her from
taking her first flight until May 29, 1989.
She’s been ascending on a regular basis ever since.
“It’s very
peaceful without a worry in the world,” Reeves said. After that first ride, they made a family
decision to shop around for their own balloon.
After checking out several types, they purchased a 70-foot-tall Aerostar
RX8 made in Sioux Falls, SD. That
balloon was first used in the Albuquerque International Fiesta Race of May 6, 1990,
a month before the move to St. Louis.
Turquoise
was the color chosen for the balloon because it means good luck to the
Indians. The balloon’s top and skirt are
black, and hot pink pennants surround the balloon. It was dubbed “The Lady” because Keith Reeves
referred to Tina as his lady while separated as both were serving in the
Marines. The balloon cost $15,000 in
1990 and had a $22,000 replacement value just a few years later.
Perhaps it
was more than just “Lady Luck” that “The Lady” placed second among 625
competitors at the 1992 Albuquerque event.
In that five-day race, overall points were scored by consistent close
landings to any of four huge ‘X’ marks placed around the city.
Meanwhile,
the Reeves’ involvement in the sport has ballooned. Tina is the editor of The Gateway Aerostatic
Association newsletter, The Log. She is also the secretary of GAA and the
land-owner relations chairperson, the position that handles disputes when a
balloon lands on a person’s property. Keith
Reeves, an air traffic controller at Lambert Tower, is a certified pilot in
charge of the GAA’s Wings Program.
But like
any sport, ballooning has its ups and downs.
“The big
part for us is the people we meet,” Tina said.
“It’s also a thrill to fly over small towns and see kids jump up and
wave to us.
“The only
unsettling element is the weather. It
can be scary when storms come up. It’s
better to be on land wishing you were in the air than being in the air wishing
you were back on the ground!”
*****BALLOON BIT:
John Wise flew his balloon 1,200 air miles from St. Louis to Henderson,
NY back in 1859. That was the longest
distance flown at that time despite the fact that ballooning was primarily a
European recreation since the 1780’s.
SPORT
BALLOONING: IT’S NOT AS EASY AS IT
LOOKS!
Sport
ballooning looks pretty simple. You
merely pump air into the balloon to get it off the ground, let the wind push
you about for awhile, then drop anchor when you’re ready to land.
OK, but
that’s not even close. It takes several people with various specialized skills
to make a successful sport ballooning team.
The team is
actually a well-trained group of four to six persons that assists in the
launches and landings. One operates
the fan which fills the balloon with air, two hold open the mouth of the
balloon, and one or two maintain a control line to the top of the balloon to
control the balloon’s rise.
To inflate,
the balloon is spread on the ground and cold air is blown in by a large
fan. As it inflates, members of the crew
hold the mouth open while the pilot directs hot air inside from the propane
burner. Since hot air rises faster than
cold, the balloon inflates to an upright position. The gondola or basket is tethered to the
ground until the pilot signals the launch to begin.
The balloon
is an aircraft, and pilots are required to attend ground school, take oral and
written exams, amass several hours of flight time attending solo runs, and make
a check balloon rise with a certified instructor.
The pilot is the man or woman certified to fly the balloon safely while
also directing that balloon team.
One cannot
actually steer a balloon because it merely drifts with the wind. But the propane burner can be used to control
the altitude of the balloon. To ascend,
air is heated inside the balloon up to a maximum of about 225 degrees. To descend, the pilot simply lets the air
cool down or pulls a parachute valve at the top.
There are
several types of balloon competitions.
One of the most popular is the hare-and-hound race, a timed event in
which a balloon (the hare), takes off, flies to an area and has a passenger get
out to place a large plastic ‘X’ closest to the center of the target (the
hound), marked by a 50-foot-square ‘X’ in the middle of the field.
Most
flights cover three to 12 miles in one to two hours.
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